Meanings of Citizenship in the U.S. Empire: Puerto Rico, Isabel Gonzalez, and the Supreme Court, 1898 to 1905. (cover story)

GONZALES v. Williams (Supreme Court case); ACTIONS & defenses (Law); NONCITIZENS; CITIZENSHIP; GONZALES, Isabel; IMPERIALISM; UNITED States history, 1865-1921

PUERTO Rico; UNITED States

The article presents an exploration into the legal history and social issues surrounding U.S. citizenship at the turn of the 20th century through the events of the 1904 Supreme Court case of Gonzales v. Williams. Details are given outlining the event surrounding the dispute, citing questions of the alien or citizen status of the Puerto Rican Isabel Gonzalez after the U.S. annexation of the territory, and exploring the various social and ethnic debates surrounding the contemporary ideologies of gender, race, and immigration.