DC and Puerto Rico. The 51st
state and the 51st state. Wait. No. Um, ignore what I just said. Neither DC
nor Puerto Rico are the 51st state of these United States. But folks have
floated both as potential additions, receiving celebrations from
Civil Rights advocates, and boos from graphic design artists. I mean
seriously, look what adding a star or two does to the American flag. Goodness gracious. Oh,
well that one seems reasonable. What’s the fuss? While the issue of becoming the
51st state seems to be the only similarity, DC and Puerto Rico actually
have more in common than you might think. But before we get into it, this video
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It’s for your health! Ok, back to DC and Puerto Rico. Let’s
uh *knock out those similarities first.* First of all, both are unique parts of the
United States. Puerto Rico is a commonwealth and an unincorporated territory of the United
States. DC is the Federal District created in Article 1 Section 8 of the United States
Constitution. Even though both are not states, both have sizable numbers of people who want
full statehood, perhaps more unanimously in DC than in Puerto Rico, where the issue
remains divisive. The last non-binding referendum there on the matter resulted in only
52% support for Puerto Rican statehood. In short, both have status within the United States
that is more settled by time than opinion. People born in both places are American citizens, and can freely work and travel
within the United States. The biggest religion in both is Christianity.
65% of Washingtonians and 89% of Puerto Ricans identify as Christian, with 56% of Puerto Ricans
identifying as Roman Catholic specifically. Both are relatively sunny. Puerto
Rico has sunny days most of the year. While shows like House of Cards would
lead one to believe that DC is a sad, dark, cloudy place, it actually
averages 203 sunny days each year. Both are also known for colorful row houses, with
the row houses in San Juan coming in more colorful than DC’s, in my estimation. By the way San
Juan is Puerto Rico’s capital and largest city. Both are really pretty. No one could
deny the spectacle of San Juan’s El Morro Fortress overlooking the ocean. But many
of you might be surprised to know that DC, away from the political hearings, is pretty too. The Cherry Blossoms in the Tidal Basin in
spring are just wow…yeah look at the bro. Both have awesome flags. Hey speaking of which,
this video is a collaboration with my friend Will from the channel Exploring History. He just
released a video about the fascinating history of the DC flag. Go check it out on his channel
after you’re done watching this video eh? Ok, so how about some
differences? Yeah there are A LOT. First of all, Puerto Rico is an archipelago…it has multiple islands yo, some
of which are not even inhabited. Puerto Rico is over 3,500 square miles, while
DC is only 68 square miles. DC used to be larger when Virginia’s 15 square mile contribution,
Alexandria County, was part of it. However, in 1847, folks in Alexandria Contry demanded
that it go back to Virginia, and it did. DC borders two states, Virginia and
Maryland…oh don’t forget to check out my Virginia and Maryland video, by
the way…while Puerto Rico borders, well, the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean
Sea. Or car i be uhn sea, sorry! Puerto Rico has a bigger population (3,263,584)
than DC (670,000). But DC’s population is much more dense, with 9,856 people per square
mile. Puerto Rico has 1,088 per square mile. Puerto Rico has coastal plains contrasted
by mountains, like the Cordillera Central. DC is in a so-called ‘topographic bowl’,
according to the National Parks Service. The National Mall is located in
the bottom of the floodplain, partially contributing to DC’s nickname, the
Swamp. Get it? We need to “Drain the Swamp?” Anyway, the Smithsonian Magazine actually
points to this swamp imagery as a ‘myth’, and points out that over farming around the
Potomac created some crazy erosion in the 1800s. Speaking of farming, DC used
to be mostly farmland. Today, yeah there isn’t much farming in DC, aside
from community gardens. Puerto Rico clearly has more space, and therefore more farming. But
according to the 2017 Census for Agriculture, the 8,230 farms in Puerto Rico totalled 37.5%
lower in number than in the previous census. The top commodities there included
milk, field crops, and cattle. Puerto Rico has pretty stable warm
temperatures year-round, about 80-85 F as highs, with minimal season change and high
humidity. But DC has four distinct seasons, with a few days of snowfall per year
on average, and hot, humid summers. It rains more in Puerto Rico than DC. Puerto
Rico has a higher risk of natural disasters too, with hurricanes being an annual risk. While
a couple of Atlantic hurricanes have hit DC before, the bigger risk
to residents there might be humans, aka the fact that DC is always top of the
list with New York and Los Angeles as a target for COUNTRIES that are potential
American enemies, like North Korea. DC has the Potomac River, and two of
its tributaries, the Anacosti River, for which a neighborhood is named, and
Rock Creek (for which DC’s largest park is named). Puerto Rico, being bigger,
has more rivers. Specifically, more than 5,000 miles of rivers.
The longest is the La Plata River. DC leans Democratic politically. Well, considering
the fact that residents there have voted for the Democratic Party candidate in every presidential
election since the first one they voted in, back in 1964, and in the 21st century have
voted upwards of 90% for Democratic presidential candidates. Ok, so it might be considered less
of a political lean, and more of whatever this dance move from Michael Jackson was called. DC
by the way, is the only non-state to be given electoral votes in presidential elections. Puerto
Rico gets none. Zero. You get nothing! You lose! Good day sir! You’re a crook. See my video on the
Insular Cases for more context on this injustice. Puerto Rico does participate in the presidential
primaries for the Democrat and Republican parties. But politicians in Puerto Rico associate with
their own political parties for elections. The two largest parties are the New Progressive Party and
the Popular Democratic Party. The two parties are often distinguished by their position on statehood
for Puerto Rico, with the New Progressive Party supporting that Puerto Rico becomes a state,
and the Popular Democratic Party supporting the maintenance of Puerto Rico’s current status.
There’s also the Puerto Rican Independence Party, which advocates, you guessed it, a third option:
Puerto Rican independence from the United States. Puerto Rico also sends one non-voting member to the US House of Representatives,
and they serve a four-year term, the only member of the House to do so. DC
also has one non-voting member of the House. So does Puerto Rico lean left or right? Well,
the current non-voting representative to the House of Representatives is affiliated with the
Republican Party. The previous non-voting member was Pedro Pierluisi, who is now the governor of
Puerto Rico. He associated with the Democratic Caucus while he was in the House. In other words,
Puerto Rico’s political leanings are a little more up in the air. They are generally more socially
conservative than Democratic Party voters, so might be seen as up-for-grabs were
they ever to achieve statehood. That is, assuming future Republican visitors don’t
throw paper towels at them after Hurricanes. For DC, there is no question.
If it were to become a state, its representatives for the House
and Senate would be Democrats. Ok, let’s get into some history now… Puerto Rico was called Borinquén (bore in kin) by
the Taíno (tay no), who inhabited the island long before the Spanish came. The current name,
Puerto Rico, or “rich port” is of course Spanish in origin, and refers to all the gold
nuggets that Christopher Columbus and the Spanish found in the riveronce they arrived. Washington,
District of Columbia was originally referred to as the Federal District in the US Constitution,
and was written before modern day DC was even selected as the location of the US capital.
Once founded, the whole of the district was named District of Columbia, after…well would
you look at that? Christopher Columbus, while the portion specifically for the Federal
buildings, like the White House and Capitol, was known as the City of Washington, after George
Washington, who personally selected the spot. Puerto Rico’s original population was made up of
the Taíno. Columbus arrived in 1493 and everything changed. The new Spanish colony would also
receive an infusion of African peoples who were imported as slaves. Jump ahead to
1898, and the United States took Puerto Rico from Spain during the Spanish-American
War. In the 1900s, Puerto Ricans received citizenship, and on July 25, 1952 became the
self-governing commonwealth we know it as today. Puerto Ricans actually have two citizenships,
one of the United States and one of Puerto Rico. As I mentioned, Washington D.C. was selected
as the location of the federal district through the Compromise of 1790, a deal cut
by Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton, and popularly known in the song ‘The Room Where
it Happens’. The British invaded and briefly captured Washington during the War of 1812. They
burned down many government buildings, including what is today known as the White House and part
of the Capitol building. Though the slave trade was banned in DC as part of the Compromise of 1850
(sing), there were thousands of enslaved people in Washington DC at the start of the American Civil
War in 1861. There was also a large population of free people of color. Through the defense
of DC, or in the process of fleeing the South, seeking employment, refuge etc. - DC’s black
population swelled by the end of the war. It led some whites to sarcastically call DC the ‘Black
Man’s Paradise’ well into the 1900s. Today, DC is a vivid and interesting city, with the backdrop
of national politics, for better or for worse. DC’s population is actually quite diverse,
with equal parts white and black, around 46%. There’s also a sizeable Hispanic
and Latino population, and you can especially see this in both the Columbia
Heights and Mount Pleasant neighborhoods. Puerto Rico, and this may be no surprise to you,
is almost 99% Hispanic or Latino, according to the latest census numbers. While most Puerto
Ricans have Spanish ancestry due to colonization, recent research shows a minority still carry
genetic traces of the indigenous Taíno people, long thought extinct. And yeah, Spanish is the
main language spoken in Puerto Rico. Bueno? 58% of Washingtonians have
at least a bachelor’s degree, and that is wildly above the national average
of 32%. In Puerto Rico, 26% hold a bachelor’s, which uh yeah is below the national
average. This is no laughing matter, as disparities like this are systemic.
One example to demonstrate this is that DC spends $22,406 per student in
school, while Puerto Rico spends just $6,400. The median household income in DC ($86,420)
is more than FOUR TIMES higher than in Puerto Rico($20,539). Then again the cost of living
is also about three times higher in DC than Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico, predictably, has a
dramatically higher poverty rate, 43% vs just 15% in DC. If Puerto Rico WAS a state, it would be
the poorest state. But it’s important to point out that 43% is the poverty line established
for the mainland, so it’s not necessarily an apples and oranges comparison. The minimum wage
is nearly twice as high in DC ($15.20 vs $8.50). Washingtonians definitely pay more in taxes, with both Federal and DC income taxes. Bona Fide
residents of Puerto Rico with income exclusively from inside Puerto Rico don’t even have to file
federal income taxes. Ah, so THAT may be why many there don’t want to become a state. Hmmmm.
And even if one files from Puerto Rico, any income sourced in Puerto Rico doesn’t
need to be reported to the IRS. Cool beans. Puerto Rico’s tax authority also doesn’t
tax investment dividends or capital gains. DC was originally governed by a Commissioner
selected by Congress. Today, it is governed by a Mayor and a District Council. The self-governance
is granted by Congress, and could theoretically be taken away. Puerto Rico is also self-governing,
with a governor and bicameral legislature. Washington DC has professional sports teams,
for real. First, there’s the NFL football team, the newly renamed Washington Commanders, the
NBA basketball team the Washington Wizards, the NHL hockey team the Capitals,
the MLS soccer team DC United, and the WNBA basketball team the Mystics. Oh, and
how could I forget the Nationals, the perfectly named MLB baseball team. And though I couldn’t
find any professional sports team in Puerto Rico, MANY professional athletes in various sports
are from Puerto Rico, especially in baseball. Puerto Rico’s economy used to be based in
agriculture, but now its main industries include manufacturing, finance, tourism, and trade. The
main industry in DC, if you can call it that, is the Federal Government,
followed by education and tourism. Puerto Rico is probably more
business friendly than DC. And it’s often listed as one of the
best places to be an entrepreneur. Puerto Rico has lower water quality than DC.
In fact, a 2017 report found that Puerto Rico had the worst drinking water in the United
States. Though the DC region is always trying to improve the natural waters of the Potomac,
the drinking water is already quite good. If air matters to you more than water, visit
Puerto Rico. While DC’s air quality is considered fair, Puerto Rico’s air is considered
excellent. But who needs air and water amirite? It takes about 2 and a half to 3 hours to drive
from one side of Puerto Rico to the other, much more than the 45 minutes
or so to cross DC - that is, unless you get caught in DC’s famous
traffic, then maybe it WOULD take 3 hours. DC’s most famous adult beverage is the Rickey. Puerto Rico’s is the piña colada,
which in fact was invented there. Puerto Rico got a lot of attention
during the arrival and aftermath of Hurricane Maria in 2017. The handling of
the disaster and rebuilding was seen as a national scandal. Generally, Puerto
Rico tends to only make the news when there are presidential primaries,
or when the issue of statehood comes up. DC, on the other hand, is in a constant state of
national attention, especially with all the media outlets there. The National Cathedral is often
shown for funerals of notable political figures, and the monuments appear in an endless number of
shows and movies. Outside of the National Mall is also a vibrant city, which is
generally ignored in popular imagination. Speaking of underappreciated
in the popular imagination, Puerto Rico is a gem often overlooked by
Americans. Perhaps the reason why Washingtonians and Puerto Ricans are often overlooked? Well, they
can’t vote…at least in federal elections anyway. But that could change soon IF
Both become states. So what do YOU think? Should DC and/or
Puerto Rico become states? Let me know in the comments below. Also, don’t forget to watch Will’s
video about the strange history of DC’s flag over on his channel, Exploring History. And
did you know that he wrote most of the script for THIS video? Well he did. It was a tremendous
help and he nailed it. I guess it helps that he lives in DC. And finally, thanks to my $15 a month
Patreon supporters, Adam Christians, Alex Gorell, Andrew Schneider, Blips150, Carmen, Gael Guerard,
Grant Hughes, Ian Driscoll, Ilan Capone, Jack L, Jakob Birnbaum, Joel Serrano Lozada, Justin Love,
Kit Walker, KZ210QB, Naterade, Nelson Guzman, Samuel Striz, Society’s Basement, Stacey,
Steve Bryan, Thomas Oppenheim, Warren Jarog, Waterfort, and Zachary F Parker. Thanks to ALL
my Patreon supporters and thank YOU for watching.
