English · Première générale · LVA · B1 towards B1+ · adapted version

Session 3: Who is represented? Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C.

Read one step, do it, then move on. Answers are hidden: click to check.
Step one

Recap check

  1. How many seats make a majority in the House? In the Senate?
  2. Give two powers of the Senate.
  3. Put in the passive: Voters elected 435 representatives.
Answer key
  1. 218; 51 (or 50 + the Vice President).
  2. For example: it confirms judges and ministers, it approves treaties, it holds the trial after an impeachment.
  3. 435 representatives were elected (by voters).
Step two

Words to know

WordMeaning
to be on an equal footingto have the same rights and chances
under-representednot having enough representatives
to grant citizenshipto give the nationality
a territory, a commonwealthan area governed by a country but not a state
statehoodthe status of a state
Step three

Read, one sentence per line

  1. Puerto Rico became a territory of the United States after the Spanish-American War, by the Treaty of Paris.
  2. The Jones Act of 1917 granted American citizenship to Puerto Ricans.
  3. Today, Puerto Rico, a commonwealth of more than three million people, has no senator. It elects one Resident Commissioner, a member of the House of Representatives, for a four-year term.
  4. The Resident Commissioner can introduce bills, sit and vote in committees and speak on the House floor, but cannot vote on the final passage of a bill.
  5. Under Article IV, Section 3 of the Constitution, Congress has power over the territories.
  6. Washington, D.C., the capital, has no senator either; it is represented in the House by a delegate. Since the 23rd Amendment (1961), it has three electors for the presidential election, but Puerto Rico has none.
  7. On 5 November 2024, in a non-binding vote on its status, statehood came first with about 59 per cent of the valid votes. Only Congress can change the island's status.

Source: Office of the Resident Commissioner, What is a Resident Commissioner?

Step four

Answer

  1. Since when have Puerto Ricans been American citizens?
  2. How is Puerto Rico represented in Congress?
  3. What can the Resident Commissioner do, and not do?
Answer key
  1. Since the Jones Act of 1917.
  2. By one Resident Commissioner in the House, elected for four years; no senator.
  3. He can introduce bills, vote in committees, speak on the floor; he cannot vote on the final passage of a bill.
Step five

Grammar

To compare: Puerto Rico has more inhabitants than some states but fewer representatives. To contrast: whereas, while (two facts side by side); to concede: although, even though + clause, despite + noun or -ing; to balance: on the one hand ... on the other hand.

  1. Washington, D.C. has three electors, Puerto Rico has none. (contrast)
  2. they are American citizens, residents of Puerto Rico cannot vote for president. (concession)
  3. being citizens, they have no senator. (concession + -ing)
Answer key
  1. whereas / while
  2. Although / Even though
  3. Despite
Step six

Your turn

Debate in two groups: Should Puerto Rico become the 51st state? Each group prepares three arguments, then answers the other group. Use the documents only: real facts.

Key points

Possible arguments for: equal representation for American citizens, two senators and voting representatives, a vote for president; the 2024 non-binding vote. Possible arguments against or questions: a decision of Congress, a debate in Puerto Rico itself on statehood, independence or another status; identity, language, taxes. Assess the quality of the arguments, not the side.

Step seven

Homework

Finish your paragraph. Then read the painting again: who had no voice in 1855? Who has a limited voice today? Two sentences.
Key points

Example: In 1855, women and enslaved African Americans had no voice in government. Today, American citizens living in Puerto Rico cannot vote for president and their Resident Commissioner cannot vote on the final passage of bills.