sacramento, california really spoke with university of california davis history professor lisa madison. materson. she talks about activist ruth reynolds and her role in the reagan independence movement. this is about 20 minutes. >> lisa materson is an associate professor at the department of history at u.c. davis. you talked this morning about puerto rico and why it's important to historians. what did you tell your audience? >> i focused on the importance of placing puerto rico at the center of studies of u.s. by u.s.or work historians. so often puerto rico, particularly among u.s. historians is not seen as part of u.s. history, or it falls through the cracks of latin american history or u.s. history.

the puerto rican studies association is a place where it's a very vibrant interdisciplinary conversation but because of the history of puerto rico as a colony, it doesn't fit neatly into the geographical categories so it doesn't get the focus for that reason among u.s. historians. >> right now puerto rico is in the headlines as it tries to recover from an awful hurricane that basically devastated the entire island, infrastructure. so many now are leaving and coming to florida and elsewhere in the u.s. does any of that surprise you based on the history that you've researched in puerto rico? >> no. everything that we're seeing is a continuation of a legacy of

the unequal status of puerto rico in relation to the u.s. federal government. it's an unincorporated territory. it has secondary status. and this is, you know, the federal response, the availability of supplies, all these things were affected precisely because of this secondary status of unincorporated territory. this is a legal invention of the u.s. supreme court. an unincorporated territory. it comes out of cases from the early 20th century so we don't really have an idea of an unincorporated territory until we have puerto rico. this unequal rhythm that gives the executive branch and the

congressional branch unrestricted power, it's not surprising at all. >> can you walk us through briefly the history of puerto rico, what you've learned in researching the common wealth. >> well, the first thing to know is what the commonwealth is and when it was established. the commonwealth was established in 1952 and the commonwealth was really a solution to a problem, if you will, that began in 1898 in 1952 and the commonwealth was really a solution to a problem, if you will, that began in 1898 when the u.s. invaded puerto rico. and so you have pretty much with, you know, a shift here, a shift there, a continuous situation where you have this unequal relationship from 189 to 1952.

when i say shift here and there, for example, puerto ricans become u.s. citizens in 1917 but they don't have the right, if they're living on the island, to vote in congressional elections or for president or vice president. so the creation of a commonwealth, what it is -- so that's the kind of where it comes from. that's a big, broad history. 1898 to 1952 but for all practical purposes, there's a continuity in terms of the unequal relationship of this colonial status. in 1952, it's kind of described as a third way or a middle way. not statehood but not independent. and it does create more local power, local authority in terms of election or education, language, and health.

but ultimately executive congressional power rests with the u.s. federal government. so the president of the united states, congress, they can decide what kind of federal privileges can be revoked. they can send people to war. foreign policy. international trade, all of these things are determined without representation, unless, of course, someone from puerto rico travels to the u.s. mainland and they can vote as a resident in the u.s. mainland so it's a very territorially based kind of disenfranchisement. >> trying to understand or explain, we make hawaii a state and yet puerto rico, is it a state, is it a commonwealth, is it going to become an

independent country, is it a territory? >> so it is an unincorporated territory. will it become a state, will it become independent? right now you have about 50-50 in puerto rico in terms of support. half and half 50 towards maintaining the commonwealth status and or becoming a state. i don't know. i don't know what's going to happen. there is in this fairly even divide, there's a percentage of the population that favors independence. it's about, in the election in puerto rico it's about 2% to 3% but this is a bit of a mask of the long historical independence movement that existed in puerto rico that was quite vibrant and

was suppressed, sometimes violently, by the u.s. government and by a very wide spread surveillance system that incarcerated people who advocated independence. >> so they kind of want it both ways? is that a fair assessment or not? >> you mean people on a the island? >> in puerto rico. >> what do you mean both ways? >> being a state, being independent, being a commonwealth, being a territory. >> it depend on who you ask. some people say the commonwealth status, they want to maintain a rhythm with the u.s. mainland. and others want statehood because it will offer representation that's not

possible. you have to understand that -- people have to understand that puerto ricans have been u.s. citizens for a long time. so detangle this kind of long-term relationship -- but there is a strong sense of nationhood. possible. you have to understand that -- people have to understand that puerto ricans have been u.s. citizens for a long time. there's something called cultural nationalism and that's very strong on the island, everyone while some folks have a strong identity with the united states or u.s. citizens proudly serve in the military and so on. >> of nose americans, what do you think are some of the biggest misconceptions about the island, by americans. >> for example, puerto ricans are americans, so people living in the u.s. mainland who are not puerto rican and -- they have the luxury of having a misconception. i think until hurricane maria,

most people who don't have a tie to the island have not really thought about puerto rico. i think most people did not know that they were u.s. citizens, have served in the u.s. military. have fought in many wars, are proud veterans. anso i d't know if there's a luxury of kind of this misconception, certainly of that history. >> who was ruth reynolds? >> ruth reynolds was -- she -- i'm writing a book about her and she was a -- representative of someone who was involved in what you might describe as the solidarity movement. she was not puerto rican but she was a supporter of the nationalist party of puerto rico. the nationalist party of puerto rico was the pro independence revolutionary organization that

had been active on the island resisting u.s. control since the 19 zpwenlts she was a white, radical pacifist from south dakota who became a leader in the puerto rican independence party. a supporter of the national party. she claimed not to be a member of the party, and one of the closest confidants of campos, who was the leader of the nationalist party, which had -- most people are familiar with the nationalist party to the extent that they are because a few members went into congress in 1954 and opened fire and injured several congressman. so that's the national party. now, ruth reynolds, she created the american league for puerto rican independence.

puerto rico's independence. that involves non-puerto ricans. mobilizing in solidarity for puerto rico's independence. she spent two years in federal prison or in prison in puerto rico. there was another uprising in 1950. the two big uprisings for 1950 and 1954. she was caught in a drag net after the 1950 assassination atmpt of president triumph truman. and she was convicted of supporting the overthrow of the u.s. government in puerto rico. this was something that was called the gag law and it made it illegal to have the idea to engage in the idea or the act of supporting puerto rican independence, which is the whole purpose of the insurance

-- independence movement. >> even the idea? >> yes. i mean, so many people were political prisoners. who were involved in the nationalist party. it's often called the little smith act because the smith act was the vergets that was applied smith act because the smith act was the vergets that was applied in the u.s. mainland towards subversives. ruth reynolds started to party that sought the end of u.s. control in puerto rico. i do want to note that the nationalist party is -- there are other components. the nationalist party is among different sectors of the

independent movement. on the island. and indeed ruth reynolds was sometimes in man hasn't. it's not just in puerto rico. so you have a diasporaic puerto rican community and she becomes involved in the independence movement and here you can really see a tremendous cross pollination of political movements at mid 20th century. she was in something called the ashram -- which was located in spanish harlem. she was there as someone who was involved in the black civil rights movement and the free india movement and she was living in a community that were predominantly puerto rican.

she is with other members, both black and white, several rights free india activists, holding signs pro testing british imperialism in india and some puerto rican neighbors said, you know, if you're opposed to imperialism. you don't have to protest it in here so this was some of theony factors that contributed to her transition. but the other factor is that you have a lot of nagsist party members. that's hunt anyway in area of manhattan. and pedro decamp's is released from prison around this time and the nationalist party -- there were a lot of people in prison.

radical pass vists to who opposed the draft were imprisoned with puerto rican nationalists who didn't recognize the u.s. government. they were draft evaders for different -- and these mental met in prison and when they were released into harlem. you great the intense cross pollination of different movements that start to work together. so the puerto rican independence movement historically and today extends far beyond puerto rico and certainty includes in people on the island but it extends

onto people who are not u.s. who are located in the u.s. mainland and covepnaverbing national movement it's a movement the u.s. government really suppressed and there's a listen not many nose much about it and there was a reason republicans didn't want to make it known that he was not in support of independence. they didn't want to have a f.b.i. file opened. there were thoughts of mail being opened and it's a very dark history of the united states. >> a couple of quick follow-ups. i think she passed away. >> she did. she passed away in 1998. >> and how did you come across her story and why? >> i first started doing research on and i have written about -- puerto rican women who were involved in the independence movement in puerto rico including protesting, in the is the 1970's.

and i can say something about that. but as i did research in san juan, i hittered sta stow her -- started to see her name and i realized that me some other nationalist party women that i was researching were also active in manhattan so i went to the archives at the center for puerto rican stows. there i found the harlem ashram. and in the process, i started seeing all these people. james farmer and all of these different people who were involved in this harlem ashram.

i started out not writing about her but her story is so incredible. she -- one of her first jobs was on an indian reservation so she had access to u.s. imperialism against native people. she had these different moments that helped her build her opinion. she's not an anomaly. there are many other who she's working with. who have no personal ties to puerto rico. >> based on all of this, all that you've learned, what do you think it's future is going to be? >> i think it's a tough question. -- i don't know. there's been rough reluctance by

the u.s. federal government to give up certain powers. and i think perhaps an important thing to realize is that once puerto ricans become u.s. citizens, i really think that was a significant turning point. it's very hard to detangle the situation or -- you know, but i don't know. i am hopeful that there'll be greater awareness and attention to puerto rico to the type of person deposit response that took place in texas would take place in puerto rico in the future, not just in terms of natural disasters, but in terms of development, addressing issues of underdevelopment and policy -- policies that have hurt the economy over many decades.

to try to right some of the wrongs that have taken place. if your question is, is it going to become a state or not, i don't know. >> the natural and final follow-up is, because so many puerto ricans, american citizens, are now on the mainland. whether or not that is going to have any long-term impact on the island. >> it definitely is. it is right now. it is a brain drain, and culturally, it hurts the island because you have, maybe not in the metropolitan/san juan area, but in some of the other cities, you have many young people coming to the u.s. mainland for an education, for a job.

so in some of those places, you have an older population. it affects business. it affects every level of the way a city operates, the culture of a city. it is a terrible drain on the vibrancy of puerto rico. >> when does your book come out? >> i hope to have a full draft by the end of this year. i am on sabbatical this year and i'm almost done. my hope is that it will be out in the next -- it takes about one year to publication once you get it into production. >> thank you very much for joining us in sacramento. responsible for its caption content and accuracy.

visit ncicap.org] -- [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2018] the vote with more than 24,000 casting their vote saying the democrats change the most, 56% republicans at 44%. >> thanks to everyone who voted in our twitter polls on 1968 american turmoil. more than 200,000 votes were posted on issues ranging from the vietnam war to the presidential election, to women's rights and race relations. questions andus comments during live events, see video previews, will look back to what happened on the scene american history. on twitter at c-span history. on reelweekend

--rica, highlights the highlights of ronald reagan's summit with mikael gorbachev. here's a preview. [applause] [indistinct conversations] >> how whether talks going before? >> just fine. >> do you still think you're in an evil empire, mr. president?

>> [in russian] there is a continuation to too. they will evaporate, so we should have dialogue. good, honest dialogue. i would support that idea. >> yes, we want to do that and. any time that politicians get out of line or seem to be argument, you stomp your feet and you say, straighten up. >> [in russian] [laughter] [applause]

announcer: you can watch more from the 1988 muska summit between president reagan and vaccaro gober charles on real reel america. this is american history tv, all weekend and every weekend on c-span3. summit between president reagan and ricardo gorbachev. lc