Summary Of The Annexation Of Puerto Rico And The Philippines

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The annexation of Puerto Rico and the Philippines presented a legal problem. Questions concerned the constitutional rights of Filipinos. Did the Constitution follow the flag? Did American laws and the U.S. Constitution apply to the new acquisitions, including the Philippines and Puerto Rico? William Jennings Bryan and other anti-imperialists claimed that they did apply to them, but prominent imperialists argued they did not. The issue was resolved in favor of the imperialists in a series of Supreme Court cases (1901-1903) known as the Insular Cases. The Court ruled that constitutional rights were not automatically extended to territorial possessions and that the power to decide whether or not to grant such rights belonged to Congress. The Constitution

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