56th Congress

1899-1900

Congress debated at least five bills explicitly addressing the territorial status of Puerto Rico during the 56th Congress. These bills focused on the creation of an organic or territorial law that could provide a civil government for Puerto Rico. Two bills introduced by Senator Joseph B. Foraker (R-OH), namely S. 2016 and S. 2264, which provided early versions of the subsequent Foraker Act of 1900. Three additional bills providing for alternative territorial statuses, H.R. 7020 (explicitly treating Puerto Rico as a territory), H.R. 5466 (treating Puerto Rico as a District), and H.R. 8878 (implicitly treating Puerto Rico as a territory), were also debated during this period. None of the bills offered an alternative political status to some variant of a territorial status.

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