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Unincorporated territories are areas controlled by the government of the United States which are not part of the United States proper. The history of these territories is as follows:
The 1898 Treaty of Paris came in to effect, transferring Guam, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico from Spain to the United States, all three becoming unorganized, unincorporated territories.
The Foraker Act organizes Puerto Rico.
The United States takes control of its portion of the Samoan Islands given to it by the Treaty of Berlin of 1899, creating the unorganized, unincorporated territory of American Samoa.
Emilio Aguinaldo, the Filipino leader in the Philippine-American War, surrenders allowing the United States to form a civilian government.
The Philippine Autonomy Act or Jones Law is signed promising the Philippines independence.
Jones-Shafroth Act reorganizes Puerto Rico. This act conferred United States citizenship on all citizens of Puerto Rico.
The United States takes possession of the U.S. Virgin Islands under the terms of a treaty with Denmark.[1]
The name of Porto Rico changed to Puerto Rico.[2]
The Tydings-McDuffie Act is signed allowing the creation of the Commonwealth of the Philippines.
The United States recognized Philippine independence.
The United Nations grants the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands to the United States, consisting primarily of many islands fought over during World War II, and including what is now the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Northern Mariana Islands, and Palau. It was a trusteeship, and not a territory.
The Guam Organic Act came into effect, organizing Guam as an unincorporated territory.[3]
Puerto Rico became a Commonwealth of the United States, an unincorporated organized territory, with the ratification of its constitution.[2]
The Organic Act for the United States Virgin Islands goes into effect, making them an unincorporated, organized territory.[3]
American Samoa's constitution became effective. Even though no Organic Act has been passed, this move to self-government made American Samoa similar to an organized territory.[3]
The Northern Mariana Islands leave the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands to be a commonwealth of the United States, making it unincorporated and organized.[3][4]
The Marshall Islands attain independence from the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, though the trusteeship granted by the United Nations technically did not end until December 22, 1990.
The Federated States of Micronesia attained independence from the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, and remained in free association with the United States.
The United Nations terminated the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands for all but the Palau district.
The United Nations terminated the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands for the Palau district, ending the territory, making Palau de facto independent, as it was not a territory of the United States.
Palau attained de jure independence, but remained in free association with the United States.[5]
References
- ^ "Transfer Day". Retrieved on 2006-08-10.
- ^ a b "Municipalities of Puerto Rico". Statoids. Retrieved on 2006-08-10.
- ^ a b c d "Relationship with the Insular Areas". U.S. Department of the Interior. Retrieved on 2006-08-10.
- ^ "Municipalities of Northern Mariana Islands". Statoids. Retrieved on 2006-08-10.
- ^ "Background Note: Palau". Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs. Retrieved on 2006-08-10.
See also
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 5 October 2008, at 21:33.
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