Three of the U.S. territories are in theCaribbean Sea, eleven are in thePacific Ocean, and all three freely associated states are also in the Pacific. Two additional Caribbean territories are disputed and administered byColombia.
A U.S. territory is considered "organized" when the U.S. Congress passes anorganic 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 politicalautonomy. Four of the five are "organized", butAmerican Samoa is technically "unorganized" and subject to the direct jurisdiction of theOffice of Insular Affairs.
The U.S. Navy annexed Kingman Reef in 1922.Spain had sold theNorthern 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.
TheMarshall Islands became self-governing in 1979 and fully independent along with theFederated 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.
TheTreaty of Paris of 1898 came into effect, transferringGuam, thePhilippines, and Puerto Rico from Spain to the United States, all three becomingunorganized, unincorporated territories. Puerto Rico's official name was changed toPorto Rico, a phonetic reinterpretation of the Spanish name for the territory.
April 12, 1900
TheForaker Act becomes effective, making Puerto Rico an unincorporated and organized territory of the United States.[8]
GeneralEmilio Aguinaldo,President of the First Philippine Republic and Filipino leader in thePhilippine–American War, surrendered to the United States, allowing the U.S. to form a civilian government for the Philippines.
August 29, 1916
The Philippine Autonomy Act orJones Law was signed, promising thePhilippines independence.
The Commonwealth of the Philippines officially inauguratedManuel L. Quezon as the President of the Philippine Commonwealth, held at the steps of theOld Legislative Building. The event was attended by 300,000 Filipinos.
The month longLiberation of Manila led by GeneralDouglas MacArthur took place, and consequently resulted inManila 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 thePhilippines campaign.[11]
ThePrivileges and Immunities Clause regarding the rights, privileges, and immunities of citizens of the United States was expressly extended to Puerto Rico by theU.S. Congress through federal law codified in Title 48 the United States Code as48 U.S.C.§ 737 and signed by PresidentHarry 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]
TheNorthern Mariana Islands left the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands to become a commonwealth of the United States, making them an unincorporated and organized territory.[12][13]
TheFederated States of Micronesia attained independence from the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, and remained in free association with the United States.
December 22, 1990
TheUnited Nations terminated the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands for all but the Palau district.
May 25, 1994
The United Nations terminated the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands for the Palau district, ending the territory and making Palaude facto independent, as it was not a territory of the United States.
October 1, 1994
Palau attainedde jure independence, but it remained in free association with the United States.[15]
December 11, 2012
TheLegislative Assembly of Puerto Rico enacted aconcurrent resolution to request thepresident and theCongress 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 theplebiscite 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 thePuerto 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 areU.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]
TheU.S. State Department and the U.S. Code also use the term "insular area" to refer not only to territories under thesovereignty of the United States, but also those independent nations that have signed aCompact 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]
Three sovereign UN member states which were all formerly in the U.S. administeredUnited Nations Trust Territory and are currently infree association with the United States. The U.S. provides national defense, funding, and access to social services.
Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (1947–1994): 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.
^abcImmerwahr, Daniel (2019).How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States (First ed.). 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. RetrievedMay 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. RetrievedApril 12, 2018.
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Guam (organized under theGuam Organic Act of 1950)
Northern Mariana Islands (Commonwealth, organized under the 1975 Covenant)
Puerto Rico (Commonwealth, organized under the 1900Foraker Act)
U.S. Virgin Islands (organized under the 1954Revised Organic Act of the Virgin Islands)
American Samoa (self-governing even though officially unorganized and under the authority of theU.S. Department of the Interior)
Midway Atoll (administered as aNational Wildlife Refuge)
Wake Island (administered by theU.S. Air Force; claimed by theMarshall Islands)
Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (1947–1994): 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 underJapanese occupation, 1942–1945 andpuppet state, 1943–1945); granted independence on July 4, 1946, by theTreaty of Manila.
Hawaii:republican government, 1898–1900;territorial government, 1900–1959; became the State of Hawaii and the incorporated, unorganized territory of Palmyra Atoll on August 21, 1959.[28][29]
