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The Wiki article on the Annexation Debate for those who need some reading on the How? part.

A question I have been pondering for sometime:

If the United States annexes the modern Dominican Republic between 1869 and 1873, how would the territory shape up long term? That is to say, would it be possible as a territory or as a state to raise the standard of living and economic power of the island up to a level comparable with the United States (Even the lagging standards of the Reconstruction/Post-Reconstruction American South), or would any Colony/State/Territory be perpetually bound to be in a situation similar to what has happened IOTL where the Dominican Republic drastically lags behind the United States in all economic standards?

TL;DR: Is an American Santo Domingo bound to do no better then Puerto Rico economically under the United States or could it reach US levels as far as standard of living and economic power (compared to other states at least) go?
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