Territorial Scars: The Legacy of the Eugenics Movement in Puerto Rico

The United States-Puerto Rico relationship was strongly impacted by the eugenics movement of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The groundwork for the paternalistic relationship that the United States imposed on the island was set by the Spanish colonization. Once the United States gained the territory in 1898, many assumed that it would progress to statehood through the same process as former U.S. territories. However, the impact of the eugenics concerns over race, population density, and undesirable genetics had affected U.S. imperialism. The lack of white migration to the island, in combination with the perceived undesirable and overly dense population inhabiting the island, led to efforts to exclude Puerto Ricans from full statehood and to limit the growth of its population. Unlike other territorial peoples and immigrants, Puerto Ricans were subject to a targeted campaign to limit their population on the island and the mainland. The two areas of Puerto Rican life most impacted by the eugenics movement were their legal and political status in the United States and the formation and function of their medical institutions. Eugenic concepts were prominent factors amongst the layers of paternalism, racism, and colonialism that impacted the relationship between Puerto Rico and the United States. The scandal of Dr. Cornelius Rhoads serves as a case study that illustrates the complexities of the relationship well. While both the political status of Puerto Ricans and their medical institutions have experienced shifts over time, there has been a lack of substantial change to Puerto Rican political inequality with mainlanders and to their lack of self-determination in healthcare. The current conditions in Puerto Rico are the result of a complicated history where eugenics played a leading role.