Question

latino culture, many puerto rican people continued to agitate for independence. others, however, began to envision closer relations with the united states, even statehood. the debate over the philippines although the annexation of puerto rico produced relatively little controversy, the annexation of the philippines created a long and impassioned debate. controlling a nearby caribbean island fit reasonably comfortably into the united states’s sense of itself as the dominant power in the western hemisphere. controlling a large and densely populated territory thousands of miles away seemed different and, to many americans, more ominous. mckinley claimed to be reluctant to support annexation. but, according to his own accounts, he came to believe there were no acceptable alternatives. emerging from what he described as an “agonizing night of prayer,” he claimed divine guid- ance for his decision to annex the islands. returning them to spain would be “cowardly and dishonor- able,” he claimed. turning them over to another imperialist power (france, germany, or britain) would be “bad business and discreditable.” granting the islands independence would be irresponsible; the filipino people were “unfit for self gov- ernment.” the only solution was “to take them all and to edu- cate the filipinos, and uplift and christianize them, and by god’s grace do the very best we could by them.” african american cavalry substantial numbers of african americans fought in the us army during the spanish-american war. although confined to all-black units, they served in combat alongside white units and fought bravely and effectively. this photograph shows a troop of african american cavalry in formation in cuba. continued, and in 1917, under pressure to clarify the relationship between puerto rico and america, congress passed the jones act, which declared puerto rico to be united states territory and made all people of puerto rico american citizens. the puerto rican sugar industry flourished as it took advantage of the american market that was now open to it without tariffs. as in hawaii, americans began establishing large sugar plantations on the island and hired indigenous people to work them; many of the planters did not even live in puerto rico. the growing emphasis on sugar as a cash crop, and the transformation of many puerto rican farmers into paid laborers, led to a reduction in the growing of food for the island. the puerto rican people became increasingly dependent on imported food and hence increasingly a part of the international commercial economy. when international sugar prices were high, puerto rico did well. when they dropped, the island’s economy sagged, pushing the many plantation work- ers—already poor—into destitution. unhappy with the instability, the poverty among indig- enous people, and the american threat to sugar economy the rough riders theodore roosevelt resigned as assistant secretary of the navy to lead a volunteer regiment in the spanish-american war. they were known as the rough riders, and their bold charge during the battle of san juan hill made roosevelt a national hero. roosevelt is shown here (at center with glasses) posing with the other members of the regiment. imperialism • 573

Explanation:

The text discusses historical events related to the annexation of Puerto Rico and the Philippines, along with the economic and social impacts, which falls under the subfield of History in Social Science.

Answer:

History (under Social Science)