How Puerto Ricans Migrated to New York - Research Paper Example

?How Puerto Ricans Migrated to New York America is a country that was founded by the British immigrants who arrived in the New World aboard the Mayflower. Ever since then America has always had a soft spot for immigrants that wished to reside upon its shores. Welcoming the first wave of new immigrants at Ellis Island for processing, the country has never had a problem assimilating the immigrant cultures into its shores. That is what makes migrating to America a very exciting and interesting event to learn about. For this particular paper, I will be concentrating on the history of one of the largest immigrant cultures ever to come aboard the American shores. This paper will shed light upon how the Puerto Ricans migrated to New York City. The paper itself will divide the migration history of Puerto Ricans into the United States into 2 parts. The first part will cover the 20th century migration era and the latter part, the 21st century migration experience of Puerto Ricans to New York. However, in order to understand the reasons for the migration, we must first understand how Puerto Rico happened to become a part of unofficial U.S. territory in the first place. The relationship of the United States and Puerto Rico is one that is hard to define, little understood, and even more little known than to a select circle of historians who have documented the strange, symbiotic relationship of America and Puerto Rico. Though not listed as a part of the American territories, Puerto Rico still enjoys a special type of status privilege with America. As a protectorate state, the Puerto Ricans are neither truly Americans nor truly Puerto Rican. Rather, the people of Puerto Rico are known as “non citizen nationals”. Enjoying a unique kind of migrant status in the country in the process. Before the Spanish-American war came to an end, Puerto Rico was a part of Spanish occupied territory. One year before the war officially came to an end, Spain thought it in the best interest of Puerto Rico to grant it independence. However, before the finalities to independence could be applied, Spain had lost the war and in the process of surrender, had given Puerto Rico to the United States as part of an armistice between Spain and the United States. Puerto Rico officially became part of the United States roster of countries under its protectorate on October 18, 18981 Having enjoyed a protectorate relationship with the United States for more than a century, Puerto Ricans are technically “American citizens” with an independently functioning homeland ever since 1917. Falling under such a description, Puerto Rican nationals who go to the United States automatically carry United States citizenship the minute they step onto the U.S. mainland. As such, Puerto Ricans are not technically perceived to be immigrants to the United States but rather a migrant population 2 Due to the occupation of Spain and eventual turn over to the United States, Puerto Rico was never able to create a stable economy for itself. The country was mired in a high rate of poverty and economic depression. Puerto Ricans who understood the technicalities of their country's relationship with the United States chose to migrate rather than face the continuous hardships that beset their country. This time of migration came to be known as the Great Migration from Puerto Rico and resulted in a great number of Puerto Ricans entering the United States through Ellis Island in New York. Throughout time, there would be a steady influx of migrants from Puerto Rico into the United States using New York as their port of entry. The existence of good work opportunities in New York at the time of their arrival signaled that these migrants would be calling New York City their home for the time being. 3 The passing of the Johnson Act in 1921 was meant to help ease the burden of lack of job opportunities for Puerto Ricans in the United States due to competition from European immigrants. The passage of the act ensured a stream of available jobs for Puerto Ricans migrating to the United States in the hopes of having better employment opportunities since almost none existed in Puerto Rico. This is the era that came to be known as the First Period of Migration covering the period of 1910-1945. Some came from the camps or rural areas in Puerto Rico and sought jobs in agricultural fields when they arrived on the mainland.  Others came from pueblos, which are towns or small cities. For these men and women this was already their second migration, they had left the campos of Puerto Rico to look for better jobs and opportunities in the pueblos and now would leave those pueblos to come to the mainland for the so called opportunities awaiting them in the United States 4 After arriving in the United States only to find out that the Johnson Act did not generate as many jobs for the Puerto Ricans as expected, the migrant population made their way across the country in search of jobs. Since the Northeast was the industrial center of the United States, the bulk of the Puerto Rican population found themselves in New York City where they began to settle down all over the 5 boroughs. The highest concentration of Puerto Ricans in New York can be found in the Atlantic Street area in Brooklyn, El Barrio in East Harlem, and other areas of Manhattan including the Lower East Side, Upper West Side, Chelsea, and Lincoln Center. The trek of the Puerto Ricans across the state of New York also found some of them settling down in the South Bronx. This was a wave of migration that slowed down and ended after 1930 when the Great Depression caused a lessening for the demand for cheap labor. The dip in Puerto Rican migration during that era lasted until the 1940's before picking up again. By the year 1953, which was the end of the war time era, the need for cheap labor began to pick up again. Of course the Puerto Ricans were at the top of the list of choice workers with then city mayor Richard Wagner declaring that New York would be more than willing to welcome any Puerto Ricans coming to the mainland to look for work. 5 From all accounts the great migration of Puerto Ricans to New York mushroomed after the 2nd World War. In 1945, there had been 13,000 Puerto Ricans in New York City; in 1946 there were more than 50,000. Over the next decade, more than 25,000 Puerto Ricans would come to the continental U.S. each year, peaking in 1953, when more than 69,000 came. By 1955, nearly 700,000 Puerto Ricans had arrived. By the mid-1960s, more than a million had. 6 Even though the influx seemed quite sudden for the United States, over in Puerto Rico, this was part of the continuing results of the long standing economic depression. Losing hope and wishing for a fresh start, the Puerto Ricans looked to the mainland for personal financial assistance. That is most likely the reason why U.S. factory owners and employment agencies began heavily recruiting in New York. Add to that the fact that there was an influx of Puerto Rican war veterans who were returning home after being drafted to fight on the side of the United States during the war. More importantly, great strides in the improvement of the aviation industry allowed people to afford air travel, thus giving Puerto Ricans the chance to fly to the United States in what would become an airborne migration boom for the United States. 7 The entry of the 21st century has not changed the luck of the Puerto Ricans in their homeland. The country still suffers from a deteriorating economy, increased poverty, a swelling crime rate, and lack of jobs. Such a socio-economic scenario has caused most Puerto Ricans to flee the country and seek what they hope to be better opportunities in the mainland. As of the 2013 census, the United States now plays host to 4.6 million Puerto Ricans, which is more than the total number of people still living in Puerto Rico. 8 Puerto Ricans have, over time, managed to improve their lot of New York residents from the factory labor workers of World War 2. In modern day New York, the Puerto Ricans have become some of the most prominent figures in city politics and culture. That is an accomplishment considering that Puerto Ricans in New York rank among the poorest and least educated New Yorkers. A third of them continue to live in poverty even after leaving their homeland. 9 In conclusion, I would like to concentrate on the appalling way that the promises made by the special relationship of the United States of America to Puerto Rico and its population of migrants to New York has not helped to alleviate their lot in life. New York City was the port of entry for most of these migrants. New York is where the Statue of Liberty stands tall and proud to this very day. It was witness to the great migrations of Puerto Ricans into the United States and their eventual settlement in New York City. Yet somehow, after welcoming them to the country, the ball got dropped. Although Puerto Ricans call New York their home and they are Americans for all intents and purposes once they reach the mainland, there must be more that can be done for them. It is the promise that was made when they were given “non citizenship” migrant status. Throughout the history of their migration to New York, Puerto Ricans have proven to be hard workers who helped create the strong and formidable image of the United States across the world during the historic era of World War 2. Their history as a migrant population in the United States is one that they should all be proud of. The fact that they helped create the unique New York population is also something to be celebrated. Without Puerto Ricans in New York, things may have turned out very different for our country and one of its greatest cities. Bibliography Allen, Greg, “One Way Ticket to Florida: Puerto Ricans Escape Island Woes”, npr, last modified February 5, 2013, http://www.npr.org/2013/02/05/171061350/off-to-the-mainland-puerto-ricans-leaving-the-island-in-record-numbers. Department of City Planning The City of New York, “Puerto Rican Migration to New York City, last modified February 1957, http://soph.md.rcm.upr.edu/demo/images/CIDEclasico/Pob-migracion/Bulletin-1957-Puerto%20Rican%20migration%20to%20New%20York%20city.pdf Duranti, Marcelo, “The Young Lords of New York”. oneonta.edu, n.d., http://employees.oneonta.edu/bealt/Duranti.html McCune, Marianne, “Puerto Ricans Struggling... Still”, wnyc. last modified November 20, 2009, http://www.wnyc.org/story/87484-puerto-ricans-in-new-york-strugglingstill/ “Immigration ... Puerto Rico / Cuban”, accessed November 13, 2013, http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationsandactivities/presentations/immigration/cuban3.html “This Day in History”, accessed November 12, 2013, http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/us-takes-control-of-puerto-rico Read More