ch.18 sct.3 CT #3

American rule of Puerto Rico harmed the Purto Ricans by keeping Spanish officials in office and punishing Cuban protestors (p.558). America also reserved many rights to Cuba, including handling many of its military and economic affairs in the Platt Amendment (p.560).
The Puerto Ricans were helped by the American government supplying food and clothing, improving sanitation and medical research, restoring farm land, and organizing elementary schools (p.559). While they were basically in charge of Cuba, which many Cubans did not like, America was also protecting Cuba from other countries such as Spain that might try and "abuse" Cuba...
I think the benefits outweighed the harmful effects because even though the Cubans didn't like it that America was in control of a lot of their country, the Americans weren't putting them in concentration camps or destroying their land; in fact, the Americans restored their land, gave them food and clothing (which to me is more essential than political rights), and let them elect (eventually) both houses of their legislature (p.559). I think it was better to be controlled by the Americans than to suffer the "atrocities" of the Spanish.