Territories of the United States

Main articles: United States territory and Territories of the United States

Regions that are neither part of any State, nor assigned to a Native Nation, have often been legally designated as territories by the U.S. government. Since territory now has legal definition under federal law, the term insular area is used as a generic reference. These can beincorporated territories (i.e., incorporated within all provisions of the US Constitution) or unincorporated (areas in which the US Constitution does not apply). From the organization of the Northwest Territory in 1789, all areas not admitted as States were under the direct control of Congress as organized incorporated territories, with some political autonomy at the local level. Since the admission of Hawaii to the Union in 1959, there have been no incorporated territories other than the uninhabited Palmyra Atoll (formerly part of the Hawaii Territory, it was excluded from the act of admisison). Several overseas unincorporated territories are now independent countries, such as Cuba, the Philippines, Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of Palau.

Unlike states, sovereignty over insular areas rests not with the local people, but in Congress. In most areas, Congress has granted considerable self-rule through an Organic Act, which functions as a local constitution. The Northwest Ordinance grants territories the right to send a non-voting delegate to the U.S. Congress.

The U.S. is part of several international disputes over the disposition of certain maritime and insular sovereignties some of which would be considered territories. See International territorial disputes of the United States

INSULAR AREAS OF THE UNITED STATES

Several islands in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea are considered insular areas of the United States.

Incorporated (integral part of United States)

Inhabited

none

Uninhabited

Palmyra Atoll (uninhabited, owned by The Nature Conservancy but administered by the Office of Insular Affairs; part of the United States Minor Outlying Islands)

Unincorporated (United States' possessions)

Inhabited

American Samoa (unorganized; self-governing under authority of the U.S. Department of the Interior)

Guam (organized under Organic Act of 1950)

Northern Mariana Islands (commonwealth, organized under 1977 Covenant)

Puerto Rico (commonwealth, organized under terms of the 1950 Puerto Rico-Federal Relations Act)

U.S. Virgin Islands (organized under Revised Organic Act of 1954)

Uninhabited

Along with Palmyra Atoll, these form the United States Minor Outlying Islands:

Baker Island

Howland Island

Jarvis Island

Johnston Atoll

Kingman Reef

Midway Islands (administered as the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge)

Navassa Island

Wake Island

From July 18, 1947 until October 1, 1994, the U.S. administered the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, but more recently entered into a new political relationship with all four political units (one of which is the Northern Mariana Islands listed above, the others being the three freely-associated states noted below).

Date: 2015-12-24; view: 781