ABSTRACT
In 1898 the United States went to war, confident in the divine morality of its venture and armed with a doctrine of Anglo-Saxon racial superiority. This chapter analyzes the congressional and constitutional reasoning for colonialism and the impact of US sectional economic interests in shaping colonial policy. It also analyzes the role of the War Department in promoting capitalist development in Puerto Rico and the structure of the colonial state and its function in achieving US strategic and economic objectives in the region. According to proponents of tariff protection, the unregulated importation of tropical products from the Caribbean and the Philippines posed a threat to domestic producers. The politics of colonial rule and the nature of the colonial state were heavily influenced by the Supreme Court decisions. The Executive Council was a singular institution in the history of US territorial government, since it had both legislative as well as executive functions.
