Yes. The United States annexed Puerto Rico in 1898, first by military invasion during the Spanish-American War and then by treaty, and the island has remained a U.S. territory ever since. More than 125 years later, Puerto Rico is still governed as an unincorporated territory under the plenary authority of Congress. Its residents are U.S. citizens, but they cannot vote for president while living on the island and have no voting member of Congress.
How the Annexation Happened in 1898
War between the United States and Spain broke out in April 1898, driven largely by the fight over Cuban independence. The conflict quickly widened. By late July, American forces had invaded Puerto Rico and taken military control, ending nearly four centuries of Spanish rule on the island.
The formal transfer came on December 10, 1898, with the signing of the Treaty of Paris. Article II states plainly: “Spain cedes to the United States the island of Porto Rico and other islands now under Spanish sovereignty in the West Indies, and the island of Guam in the Marianas or Ladrones.”1Avalon Project. Treaty of Peace Between the United States and Spain December 10, 1898 Spain also gave up Cuba and sold the Philippines for $20 million.
Article IX handled the people. It said the “civil rights and political status of the native inhabitants” would “be determined by the Congress” of the United States.1Avalon Project. Treaty of Peace Between the United States and Spain December 10, 1898 Puerto Ricans had no role in negotiating the transfer and no guaranteed standing in the American constitutional system. Their future was left to legislators in Washington.
Why Puerto Rico Became a Territory Rather Than a State
Once the island belonged to the United States, the Supreme Court had to decide what that meant. Did the Constitution automatically follow the flag into newly acquired territory? In a series of early 1900s rulings known as the Insular Cases, the Court said no.
The most consequential of these decisions was Downes v. Bidwell (1901). Justice Brown’s opinion drew a distinction between “incorporated” territories, which were on a path to statehood and where the full Constitution applied, and “unincorporated” territories, which “belonged to, but were not a part of, the United States.” Puerto Rico fell into the second category. Under this doctrine, only “fundamental” constitutional protections applied on the island, while other provisions, like the requirement that federal taxes be uniform across the states, did not.2Justia. Downes v. Bidwell, 182 U.S. 244 (1901)
The practical effect was to give Congress enormous discretion. It could extend some rights and withhold others, apply some federal programs and exclude the island from others, all without the constitutional constraints that would bind it in a state. The Insular Cases have never been squarely overruled.
Citizenship Without Full Political Rights
For the first two years after the treaty, the U.S. military governed Puerto Rico directly. In 1900, Congress passed the Foraker Act, which set up a civilian government headed by an American-appointed executive council and created the position of Resident Commissioner to represent the island in Washington.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 48 USC Chapter 4, Subchapter I – General Provisions The Resident Commissioner could speak on the House floor but could not vote on final passage of legislation, a limitation that still holds today.
The Jones-Shafroth Act of 1917 went further. It granted U.S. citizenship to everyone born on the island, reorganized local government into executive, legislative, and judicial branches, and created a popularly elected bicameral legislature.4U.S. Capitol – Visitor Center. H.R. 9533, An Act to Provide a Civil Government for Porto Rico (Jones-Shafroth Act) President Wilson signed the law about a month before the United States entered World War I; within two months, the Selective Service Act made Puerto Rican men eligible for the draft.
Citizenship did not bring full political rights. Puerto Ricans on the island cannot vote in presidential elections, because presidential electors are apportioned to states under Article II and the Twelfth Amendment, and Puerto Rico is not a state. A Puerto Rican who moves to any of the 50 states or the District of Columbia and registers there gains full voting rights immediately. The restriction attaches to the address, not the person.
In Congress, the island’s roughly 3.2 million U.S. citizens are represented by one Resident Commissioner, who serves a four-year term in the House. The Resident Commissioner can introduce bills, speak on the floor, and vote in committee, but cannot vote on final passage. Puerto Rico has no senators. Travel between the island and the mainland requires no passport; it is a domestic trip.5USAGov. Do You Need a Passport to Travel to or From U.S. Territories or Freely Associated States?
The Commonwealth Label Did Not End the Annexation
In 1950, Congress passed Public Law 600, authorizing Puerto Ricans to draft their own constitution. A constitutional convention produced the document, voters approved it, and on July 25, 1952, the “Estado Libre Asociado,” or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, came into existence.6The American Presidency Project. Special Message to the Congress on Puerto Rico
The Commonwealth label led many people to believe Puerto Rico had achieved something close to sovereignty. It had not. The new constitution gave Puerto Ricans greater control over local matters such as education, policing, and municipal government, but it did not change the island’s underlying legal status as an unincorporated territory. The Territorial Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which grants Congress the “Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States,” still applies in full.7LII / Legal Information Institute. U.S. Constitution Annotated Article IV Section 3 Clause 2 Power of Congress over Territories Federal law generally applies to Puerto Rico unless Congress specifically says otherwise, and Congress can override local legislation whenever it chooses.
What Federal Authority Looks Like Today
Two recent developments show how live that authority remains.
In 2016, after Puerto Rico accumulated roughly $70 billion in public debt and $50 billion in unfunded pension liabilities, Congress passed the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act, known as PROMESA. The law created a Financial Oversight and Management Board with power to approve the island’s budgets, write fiscal plans, and initiate bankruptcy proceedings on Puerto Rico’s behalf. If the governor and legislature fail to adopt a budget the Board considers compliant, the Board can impose one that takes effect on the first day of the fiscal year, overriding elected officials.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 48 USC Chapter 20 – Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability The Supreme Court upheld the arrangement in Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico v. Aurelius Investment, LLC (2020), reasoning that Board members exercised “primarily local powers and duties” and so did not need Senate confirmation.9LII / Legal Information Institute. Financial Oversight and Management Bd. for Puerto Rico v. Aurelius Investment, LLC
In 2022, the Court decided United States v. Vaello Madero, holding that Congress is not required to extend Supplemental Security Income to residents of Puerto Rico. The majority reasoned that Congress’s decision to exempt the island’s residents from most federal income, estate, and excise taxes gave it a “rational basis” for treating them differently on benefits. In a concurrence, Justice Gorsuch wrote that the Insular Cases “have no foundation in the Constitution and rest instead on racial stereotypes” and “deserve no place in our law,” adding that he hoped “the day comes soon when the Court squarely overrules them.”10Supreme Court of the United States. United States v. Vaello Madero No majority opinion has done so, and the doctrine that Puerto Rico “belongs to, but is not a part of, the United States” remains binding precedent.
Ongoing Debate Over the Island’s Status
Puerto Ricans have voted on their political status multiple times. In November 2020, 52.5% of voters answered “yes” to the question “Should Puerto Rico be immediately admitted into the Union as a state?” The result was non-binding. No territorial referendum can compel Congress to act.
Congress has considered the question but not resolved it. In the 117th Congress, the House passed the Puerto Rico Status Act (H.R. 8393) by 232–191, with 216 Democrats and 16 Republicans in favor. The bill would have offered voters a federally binding choice among statehood, independence, and sovereignty in free association with the United States. The Senate never brought it to a vote. A similar bill was reintroduced in April 2023 in the 118th Congress with the same three options and also failed to advance.11Congress.gov. H.R. 2757 – 118th Congress (2023-2024) Puerto Rico Status Act
The pattern has held for decades. Puerto Rican voters express preferences, the House sometimes acts, the Senate does not. Whether the island eventually becomes a state, an independent nation, or something else, the underlying fact of U.S. sovereignty, established by military force in 1898 and formalized by treaty the same year, has not changed.