This work expounds the thought of Luis Muñoz Marín concerning the political status of Puerto Rico, articulating it in terms of natural law ethics. It thus clarifies the philosophical foundations on which the institutional structure of contemporary Puerto Rican society has been erected. Leader of the peaceful revolution which transformed Puerto Rico from a stricken land into a vital society, Muñoz is the founder of a new form of political association with the United States--the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico--which enriches not only American constitutional thought, but also the principles of federalism and democracy in general.

This resource guide to 100 key events in Latino history provides students, librarians, and scholars with hundreds of original and compelling term paper ideas and the key print and electronic sources needed for research. Latinos are the largest, fastest growing minority group in the United States, and the ways they have positively impacted our nation are significant and undeniable. This book examines the contributions of Latinos to U.S. history, providing hundreds of possible topics for term papers and research projects along with primary, secondary, web, and multimedia sources of topical information. Subjects such as the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848); the Bracero Program (1942); the United Farm Workers of America Is Formed (1962); and The Great American Boycott ("A Day Without Immigrants") of 2006 are just a few samples of the topics included. Each historical event is described briefly, followed by direction toward specific research and writing topics for the student-historian. At least two alternative term paper suggestions complement these ideas, allowing creative, original approaches to historical inquires.

The book describes the most important events in Muñoz's life, played out within his own internal "civil wars": the transformation from a young bohemian, succeding at nothing, to a political leader, spearheading the campaign to convince the jibaros not to sell their vote; the journey from an ardent independentista to a principal architect of today's Commonwealth; finally, the clash between Operation Bootstrap, that lifted the island from extreme poverty through industrialization, and Operation Serenity, an expression of his yearning for socialist values and humanitarian civilization."--Jacket.

One-third of the population of Puerto Rico moved to New York City during the mid-twentieth century. Since this massive migration, Puerto Rican literature and culture have grappled with an essential change in self-perception. Mainland Passage examines the history of that transformation, the political struggle over its representation, and the ways it has been imagined in Puerto Rico and in the work of Latina/o fiction writers. Ramón E. Soto-Crespo argues that the most significant consequence of this migration is the creation of a cultural and political borderland state. He intervenes in the Puerto Rico status debate to show that the two most discussed options--Puerto Rico's becoming either a fully federated state of the United States or an independent nation--represent false alternatives, and he forcefully reasons that Puerto Rico should be recognized as an anomalous political entity that does not conform to categories of political belonging. Investigating a fundamental shift in the way Puerto Rican writers, politicians, and scholars have imagined their cultural identity, Mainland Passage demonstrates that Puerto Rico's commonwealth status exemplifies a counterhegemonic logic and introduces a vital new approach to understanding Puerto Rican culture and history. "An extraordinarily effective and persuasive synthesis of political theory, historical exposition, and cultural analysis that does real justice to a topic of daunting complexity. Ramón Soto-Crespo's readings strike me as some of the best work being done now in US Latino literary criticism." --Ricardo L. Ortíz, Georgetown University "Mainland Passage is a provocative intervention into some of the most intractable problems in Puerto Rican studies." --The Americas