Puerto Rico's First American Election

Puerto Rico's First American Election

The item I am going to describe is “Puerto Rico’s First American Election”, written by Edwin Emerson, JR. (Emerson, 7). In this section, Puerto Rico hosts its first American Election between the Republicans and the Federals in which thousands of voters showed up. This was interesting because both parties had almost exactly the same views and connections in Washington DC, which turned it into a meaningless competition. The audience that this section reached out to was Americans interested in foreign election affairs, or foreign politics that directly affected the United States and were conducted in the same way as well. One thing that I can ascertain about the author is that he has written about Spanish-speaking people before and that he has lived there for quite sometime. In the section Emerson states, “ Puerto Rico has always been a hotbed of politics. For those who have not lived among Spanish-speaking people it is difficult to realize to what depths personal political enmity can go” (7). This statement makes it obvious to the reader that Emerson has had some past experience with the Spanish-speaking people as well as an understanding of some of their culture. This item is interesting because it discusses one of the first American elections that was not actually held in America. It is also very interesting because the author attempts to connect it with things Americans will understand such as when Emerson states, “ there is no more essential difference between them than between the County Democracy of New York and Tammany Hall” (7). Emerson’s connections help to convey how elections in New York aren’t all that different then elections in Puerto Rico.

Edwin Emerson, Jr.

Emerson, Edwin, JR. "Puerto Rico's First American Election" Collier's Weekly Journal of Art, Literature, and Current Events 24.14 (6 January 1900) Print.

Collier's Weekly

11/03/15

Adam Monticollo

January 6, 1900