Three of the U.S. territories are in the Caribbean Sea, eleven are in the Pacific Ocean, and all three freely associated states are also in the Pacific. Two additional Caribbean territories are disputed and administered by Colombia.
A U.S. territory is considered "organized" when the U.S. Congress passes an organic act for it.[1] Three of the U.S. territories with a permanent non-military population have constitutions, and all five have locally elected territorial legislatures and executives, and some degree of political autonomy. Four of the five are "organized", but American Samoa is technically "unorganized" and subject to the direct jurisdiction of the Office of Insular Affairs.
Beach in American Samoa
The first insular areas that the United States occupied were Baker Island, Howland Island and Navassa Island (1857) then Johnston Atoll and Jarvis Island (both in 1858) would be claimed. After the Spanish–American War in 1898, several territories were taken that are still under U.S. sovereignty (Puerto Rico and Guam, both in 1898).[3] Palmyra Atoll was annexed along with the Republic of Hawaii (formerly a Kingdom) that same year. American Samoa was reclaimed the following year (1899). In 1917, at the height of World War I, Denmark sold the Danish Virgin Islands to the United States.[4]
The U.S. Navy annexed Kingman Reef in 1922. Spain had sold the Northern Mariana Islands to Germany in 1899.[5] The islands passed to Japan, which in turn lost them to the United States in 1945 after the end of World War II.
The Marshall Islands became self-governing in 1979 and fully independent along with the Federated States of Micronesia in 1986. Palau achieved independence in 1994.[6] The three countries maintain sovereignty with free association status with the United States, which provides them with defense assistance and economic resources.
The Treaty of Paris of 1898 came into effect, transferring Guam, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico from Spain to the United States, all three becoming unorganized, unincorporated territories. Puerto Rico's official name was changed to Porto Rico, a phonetic reinterpretation of the Spanish name for the territory.
April 12, 1900
The Foraker Act becomes effective, making Puerto Rico an unincorporated and organized territory of the United States.[8]
The month long Liberation of Manila led by General Douglas MacArthur took place, and consequently resulted in Manila Massacre committed by the Japanese forces throughout the Battle of Manila. An estimated 100,000 Manila civilians were killed during the massacre.
August 1945
The United States regains full control of its colony of the Philippines following the Philippines campaign.[11]
The Privileges and Immunities Clause regarding the rights, privileges, and immunities of citizens of the United States was expressly extended to Puerto Rico by the U.S. Congress through federal law codified in Title 48 the United States Code as 48U.S.C.§737 and signed by President Harry S. Truman. This law indicates that the rights, privileges, and immunities of citizens of the United States shall be respected in Puerto Rico to the same extent as though Puerto Rico were a State of the Union and subject to the provisions of paragraph 1 of section 2 of article IV of the Constitution of the United States.
American Samoa's constitution became effective. Even though no organic act was passed, this move to self-government made American Samoa similar to an organized territory.[12]
Palau attained de jure independence, but it remained in free association with the United States.[15]
December 11, 2012
The Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico enacted a concurrent resolution to request the president and the Congress of the United States to respond diligently and effectively, and to act on the demand of the people of Puerto Rico, as freely and democratically expressed in the plebiscite held on November 6, 2012, to end, once and for all, its current form of territorial status and to begin the process to admit Puerto Rico to the Union as a State.[16]
December 22, 2022
The U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of the Puerto Rico Status Act. The act sought to resolve Puerto Rico's status and its relationship to the United States through a binding plebiscite to be held in November 2023;[17] however, the Senate never acted on the bill.[18]
April 20, 2023
Puerto Rico Status Act re-introduced in U.S. House with the plebiscite to be held in November 2025.[18]
Congress has extended citizenship rights by birth to all inhabited territories except American Samoa, and these citizens may vote and run for office in any U.S. jurisdiction in which they are residents. The people of American Samoa are U.S. nationals by place of birth, or they are U.S. citizens by parentage, or naturalization after residing in a State for three months.[19] Nationals are free to move around and seek employment within the United States without immigration restrictions, but cannot vote or hold office outside American Samoa.[20]
The U.S. State Department and the U.S. Code also use the term "insular area" to refer not only to territories under the sovereignty of the United States, but also those independent nations that have signed a Compact of Free Association with the United States. While these nations participate in many otherwise domestic programs, and full responsibility for their military defense rests with the United States, they are legally distinct from the United States and their inhabitants are neither U.S. citizens nor nationals.[1]
The following islands, or island groups, are considered insular areas:
Three sovereign UN member states which were all formerly in the U.S. administered United Nations Trust Territory and are currently in free association with the United States. The U.S. provides national defense, funding, and access to social services.
Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands: U.N. trust territory administered by the U.S.; included the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
Immerwahr, Daniel (2019). How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States (Firsted.). New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN978-0-3741-7214-5.
U.S. State Dept. "Foreign Relations of the United States". Archived from the original on June 17, 2016. Retrieved May 18, 2016. The people of Puerto Rico will continue to be exempt from Federal income taxes on the income they derive from sources within Puerto Rico, and into their treasury, for appropriation and expenditure as their legislature may decide, will be deposited the proceeds of United States internal revenue taxes collected on articles produced in Puerto Rico and the proceeds of United States tariffs and customs collected on foreign merchandise entering Puerto Rico.
Publication 570(PDF). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Internal Revenue Service. 2017. Archived(PDF) from the original on April 7, 2018. Retrieved April 12, 2018.
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Guam (organized under the Guam Organic Act of 1950)
Northern Mariana Islands (Commonwealth, organized under the 1975 Covenant)
Puerto Rico (Commonwealth, organized under the 1900 Foraker Act)
U.S. Virgin Islands (organized under the 1954 Revised Organic Act of the Virgin Islands)
American Samoa (self-governing even though officially unorganized and under the authority of the U.S. Department of the Interior)
Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands: U.N. trust territory administered by the U.S.; included the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
Philippines: military government, 1899–1902; insular government, 1902–1935; commonwealth government, 1935–1942 and 1945–1946 (islands under Japanese occupation, 1942–1945 and puppet state, 1943–1945); granted independence on July 4, 1946, by the Treaty of Manila.
Hawaii: republic government, 1898–1900; territorial government, 1900–1959; became the State of Hawaii and the incorporated, unorganized territory of Palmyra Atoll on August 21, 1959.[27][28]
