History in the Making
Document Type
Article
Abstract
In the first half of the twentieth century, the nationalist movement in Puerto Rico, led by Harvard Law School graduate Pedro Albizu Campos (1893–1965), firmly called for the independence of the island. Its supporters made vociferous calls against the exploitation of the island by the United States government, its military and multinational corporations. Their campaign for independence culminated on October 30, 1950, with small-scale armed insurgencies across Puerto Rico, the Governor’s residence in San Juan, and the attacks against then President Harry S. Truman (1884–1972) at Blair House, Washington D.C. While a combination of domestic and foreign actors played significant roles in the failed insurgency, it was primarily the United States and the Puerto Rican governments who actively worked for the collapse of the independence coalition. Monolith government forces embodied in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Puerto Rican Insular Police relied on coercive force, undercover work, and intimidation of people to disrupt and interfere with the nationalist movement. These repressive campaigns had traumatic repercussions on Puerto Rican nationalists and their supporters that still reverberate in the historical collective memory and Puerto Rican society.
Recommended Citation
Chamu, Gustavo Alonso
(2025)
"Reverberations of the 1950s Puerto Rico Nationalist Independence Movement,"
History in the Making: Vol. 18, Article 6.
Available at:
https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/history-in-the-making/vol18/iss1/6