The Doctrines of Imagination : American Foreign Policy & the Images of Puerto Rico , 1898-1965
The United States felt Europe ’ s presence often and that set the precedent for the Monroe Doctrine in 1823 , which forbade Europe from interfering in the economies of the Western Hemisphere . In the moments leading up to James Monroe ’ s presidency , the United States engaged in “ imperial colonialism ,” which is a term coined by William Appleman Williams to describe the blending of imperialism and anti-colonialism in American nineteenth-century domestic and foreign policy . 1 Moreover , imperial colonialism was a reaction to the United States ’ own experience with colonialism . Jay Sexton , the author of The Monroe Doctrine : Empire and Nation in the Nineteenth-Century America , suggested that in an attempt to “ consolidate independence from the British Empire ,” the United States engaged in “ imperial acts ” like acquiring new territories and exercising control over Native Americans . 2 The Monroe Doctrine was another reaction to its colonial past .
The implementation of this foreign policy was as bold as it was ambiguous . Although the United States did not have the power to enforce it , the power the Monroe Doctrine would accrue happened over time . The Monroe Doctrine had to evolve as the United States became more powerful . Between 1898 and 1965 , the Monroe Doctrine was enforced through extensions like the Roosevelt Corollary , the Good Neighbor Policy , and the Truman Doctrine . Each of these policies affected the island of Puerto Rico . 3
President Monroe ’ s decision created the paths for the United States and
Puerto Rico to cross . Those roads intersected in 1898 and their relationship changed with every evolution of the Monroe Doctrine . The work of American writers between 1898 and 1965 shows that as the United States altered its foreign policy in Latin America , the images of how Americans viewed Puerto Rico and its people changed alongside each shift in foreign policy . Writers such as Howard Grose , Charles H . Rector , Elizabeth and Richard Van Deusen , Ralph Hancock , Ruth Gruber , and Earl Parker Hanson played pivotal roles in describing Puerto Rico over the course of six decades .
From 1898 to 1929 , Puerto Rico was seen as a beacon of potential that could be shaped by American economic and cultural ideas of freedom that were antithetical to Spanish colonialism . Puerto Ricans , on the other hand , were viewed as lazy and backwards and who could only be redeemed if they adopted American customs . Between 1930 and 1946 , Puerto Rico ’ s image was that of a tropical paradise and Puerto Ricans were praised for their European features . By the Cold War era , Puerto Rico was described as a capitalist economic miracle that was made possible by the United States ’ resources and Puerto Ricans ’ hard work and American-like industriousness .
1898-1929 : Breaking the Chains of Spanish Colonialism
Puerto Rico and the United States ’ roads converged during the Spanish-American War of 1898 .
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