After the U.S. Congress modifies it, a second referendum is held in 1952, and Puerto Ricans vote for the constitution that remains in effect today.

The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or “El Estado Libre Asociado” (ELA) results in an ambiguous political status. Puerto Ricans carry U.S. passports and serve in the U.S. military, but they cannot vote for U.S. president or elect a delegation to Congress. While the constitution marks a historic change giving the Island greater local control, it does not alter the legal or economic relationship between the two countries.

Nationalists dramatize their opposition to U.S. policies in an attempted assassination of President Truman in 1950 and a shooting the House of Representatives in 1954.