legislative authority, a court system, citizenship requirements, and protection of the people by the United States.
While the Foraker Act certainly imposed greater order on Puerto Rico, and brought greater economic prosperity which flowed from that order and increased American involvement, Barck and Blake write that the relationship between the United States and Puerto Rico closely reflected the earlier relationship between Great Britain and the American Colonies, a relationship which led to the American Revolution. For example, the six executive departments were all headed by an American. The people were considered "citizens of Puerto Rico" and were given the protection of the United States but not the privileges and freedoms which go along with American citizenship. Barck and Blake write that "The form of government [in Puerto Rico, established by the Foraker Act] bore a striking resemblance to that which the Americans themselves had once 'enjoyed' under British rule" (Barck and Blake 93).
The Foraker Act remained in effect without significant
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