U.S. territory that is neither a U.S. state nor the District of Columbia
In the
law of the United States
, an
insular area
is a U.S.-associated jurisdiction that is not part of a
U.S. state
or the
District of Columbia
. This includes fourteen
U.S. territories
administered under U.S. sovereignty, as well as three
sovereign states
each with a
Compact of Free Association
with the United States.
[1]
[2]
The term also may be used to refer to the previous status of the
Swan Islands
,
Hawaii
,
Puerto Rico
, and the
Philippines
, as well as the
Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands
when it existed.
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
.
Article IV, Section 3, Clause 2
of the
U.S. Constitution
grants to the
United States Congress
the responsibility of overseeing the territories.
[a]
A series of
U.S. Supreme Court
decisions known as the
Insular Cases
created a distinction between "incorporated territories", where the full
Constitution of the United States
applies, and "
unincorporated territories
", where only basic protections apply. The only current incorporated territory,
Palmyra Atoll
, is uninhabited.
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
.
History
[
edit
]
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.
Timeline
[
edit
]
- August 28, 1867
- Captain
William Reynolds
of the
USS
Lackawanna
formally took possession of the
Midway Atoll
for the United States.
[7]
- August 13, 1898
- United States Navy
under Admiral
George Dewey
,
United States Army
's
Eighth Army Corps
under Major General
Wesley Merritt
, and Lieutenant General
Arthur MacArthur Jr.
captured the
City of Manila
from Spain after Governor-General of the Philippines
Fermin Jaudenes
surrendered the city, which then remained Spanish-occupied even after the declaration of Philippine Independence from Spain and the establishment of the
First Philippine Republic
on June 12, 1898.
- February 4, 1899
- Philippine?American War
began between the
First Philippine Republic
and the newly arrived
US Military Government
.
- April 11, 1899
- 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]
- June 7, 1900
- The United States took control of the portion of the
Samoan Islands
given to it by the
Treaty of Berlin of 1899
, creating the
unorganized, unincorporated
territory of
American Samoa
.
- April 1, 1901
- General
Emilio Aguinaldo
,
President
of the
First Philippine Republic
and Filipino leader in the
Philippine?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 or
Jones Law
was signed, promising the
Philippines
independence.
- March 2, 1917
- Jones?Shafroth Act
reorganized
Puerto Rico
. This act conferred
United States citizenship
on all citizens of Puerto Rico.
- March 31, 1917
- The United States purchased the
Danish West Indies
and renamed it as
U.S. Virgin Islands
under the terms of a treaty with
Denmark
.
[9]
- May 17, 1932
- The name of Porto Rico was changed to
Puerto Rico
.
[10]
- March 24, 1934
- The
Tydings?McDuffie Act
was signed allowing the creation of the
Commonwealth of the Philippines
.
- November 15, 1935
- The
Commonwealth of the Philippines
officially inaugurated
Manuel L. Quezon
as the President of the Philippine Commonwealth, held at the steps of the
Old Legislative Building
. The event was attended by 300,000 Filipinos.
- December 8, 1941
- Commonwealth of the Philippines
was
invaded and occupied by Japan
during
World War Two
, initiating "the most destructive event ever to take place on U.S. soil".
[11]
Over 1,100,000
Filipino American
civilians died during the war.
[11]
- February 3 - March 3, 1945
- 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]
- July 4, 1946
- The United States formally recognized the
Philippine independence
, establishing the
Third Philippine Republic
, which inaugurated
Manuel Roxas
as the President of the independent Philippines. The independence ceremonies and inauguration rites were held at the
Quirino Grandstand
.
- July 14, 1947
- The
United Nations
granted 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
, the
Carolina Islands
,
Federated States of Micronesia
,
Northern Mariana Islands
, and
Palau
. It was a
trusteeship
, and not a territory of the United States.
- August 5, 1947
- 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
48 U.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.
- July 1, 1950
- The
Guam Organic Act
came into effect,
organizing
Guam
as an unincorporated territory.
[12]
- July 25, 1952
- Puerto Rico
becomes a
Commonwealth
of the United States with the ratification of its constitution.
[10]
- July 22, 1954
- The organic act for the
United States Virgin Islands
went into effect, making them an
unincorporated, organized
territory.
[12]
- July 1, 1967
- 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]
- September 12, 1967
- Article Three of the United States Constitution
, was expressly extended to the
United States District Court
for
the District of Puerto Rico
by the
U.S. Congress
through the federal law 89-571, 80 Stat. 764, this law was signed by President
Lyndon B. Johnson
.
- January 1, 1978
- The
Northern 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]
- January 9, 1978
- The
Northern Mariana Islands Commonwealth Constitution
, which had been ratified by voters on March 6, 1977, goes into effect.
[14]
- October 21, 1986
- The
Marshall Islands
attained 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 Marshall Islands remained in
free association
with the United States.
- November 3, 1986
- The
Federated 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
- The
United 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
Palau
de facto
independent, as it was not a territory of the United States.
- October 1, 1994
- 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]
Citizenship
[
edit
]
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]
Taxation
[
edit
]
Residents of the five major populated insular areas do not pay U.S. federal
income taxes
but are required to pay other U.S. federal taxes such as
import
and
export
taxes,
[21]
[22]
federal
commodity taxes
,
[23]
Social Security taxes
, etc. Individuals working for the federal government pay
federal income taxes
while all residents are required to pay federal
payroll taxes
(
Social Security
[24]
and
Medicare
). According to
IRS
Publication 570, income from other U.S.
Pacific Ocean
insular areas (
Howland
,
Baker
,
Jarvis
,
Johnston
,
Midway
,
Palmyra
, and
Wake
Islands, and
Kingman Reef
) is fully taxable as income of United States residents.
[25]
Puerto Rico is inside the main domestic
customs territory
of the United States, but the other insular areas are outside it; tariff treatment varies (see
Foreign trade of the United States § Customs territory
).
Associated states
[
edit
]
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]
Current insular areas by status
[
edit
]
The following islands, or island groups, are considered insular areas:
Incorporated organized territories
[
edit
]
None
Incorporated unorganized territory
[
edit
]
One (uninhabited)
Unincorporated organized territories
[
edit
]
Four (inhabited)
Unincorporated unorganized territories
[
edit
]
One (inhabited)
Six (uninhabited)
Two (uninhabited, disputed)
Claimed territories
[
edit
]
Two (uninhabited, disputed)
Freely associated states
[
edit
]
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.
After achieving independence from the
Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands
, these states are no longer under U.S. sovereignty and thus not considered part of the United States.
[26]
Some programs in these states are administered by the U.S.
Office of Insular Affairs
, along with other federal entities such as the
Department of Defense
.
Former insular areas
[
edit
]
- 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.
- Puerto Rico
:
military government, 1899?1900
;
insular government, 1900?1952
; became a
commonwealth
on July 25, 1952.
[1]
- 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]
- Swan Islands
(1863?1972): claimed by the U.S. under the
Guano Islands Act
; sovereignty ceded to
Honduras
in a 1972 treaty.
[29]
- Serrana Bank
,
Quita Sueno Bank
and
Roncador Bank
: claimed by the U.S. under the
Guano Islands Act
; claims ceded to
Colombia
.
- Caroline Island
,
Kirimati
,
Flint Island
,
Malden Island
,
Starbuck Island
,
Vostok Island
,
Birnie Island
,
Gardner Island
,
Orona
,
McKean Island
,
Manra
,
Rawaki
,
Canton Island
and
Enderbury Island
: claimed by the U.S. under the
Guano Islands Act
; claims ceded to
Kiribati
.
- Funafuti
,
Nukufetau
,
Nukulaelae
and
Niulakita
: claimed by the U.S. under the
Guano Islands Act
; claims ceded to
Tuvalu
.
- Pukapuka
,
Manihiki
,
Penrhyn
and
Rakahanga
: claimed by the U.S. under the
Guano Islands Act
; claims ceded to the
Cook Islands
.
- Atafu
,
Fakaofo
and
Nukunonu
: claimed by the U.S. under the
Guano Islands Act
; claims ceded to
Tokelau
.
See also
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
Although an
archaism
, some older federal statutes and regulations still in force refer to insular areas as
insular possessions
.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Definitions of Insular Area Political Organizations"
. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of the Interior. 12 June 2015.
Archived
from the original on 13 July 2018
. Retrieved
March 3,
2018
.
- ^
42 U.S.C.
§§ 5204
?
1
- ^
Tagliaferro, Linda (2004-01-01).
Puerto Rico in Pictures
. Twenty-First Century Books.
ISBN
978-0-8225-0936-3
.
Archived
from the original on 2023-06-30
. Retrieved
2020-10-02
.
- ^
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2001: The National Data Book
. U.S. Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistical Administration, Bureau of the Census. 2001.
ISBN
978-0-934213-84-4
.
Archived
from the original on 2023-06-30
. Retrieved
2020-10-02
.
- ^
Goldberg, Walter M. (2017-12-08).
The Geography, Nature and History of the Tropical Pacific and its Islands
. Springer.
ISBN
978-3-319-69532-7
.
Archived
from the original on 2023-06-30
. Retrieved
2020-10-02
.
- ^
Clinton, William J (1994-01-01).
Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton, 1994
. Best Books on.
ISBN
978-1-62376-794-5
.
Archived
from the original on 2023-06-30
. Retrieved
2020-10-02
.
- ^
Midway Islands History
. Janeresture.com. (archived from
the original
on January 1, 2006)
- ^
The World Almanac & Book of Facts 1901
, p93
- ^
"Transfer Day"
. Archived from
the original
on June 28, 2007
. Retrieved
August 10,
2006
.
- ^
a
b
"Municipalities of Puerto Rico"
. Statoids.
Archived
from the original on May 26, 2006
. Retrieved
August 10,
2006
.
- ^
a
b
c
Immerwahr, Daniel (2019).
How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States
(First ed.). New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
ISBN
978-0-3741-7214-5
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Relationship with the Insular Areas"
. U.S. Department of the Interior. Archived from
the original
on May 26, 2006
. Retrieved
August 10,
2006
.
- ^
"Municipalities of Northern Mariana Islands"
. Statoids.
Archived
from the original on August 21, 2006
. Retrieved
August 10,
2006
.
- ^
"CNMI Constitution"
.
cnmilaw.org
.
Archived
from the original on 2023-06-01
. Retrieved
2023-05-24
.
- ^
"Background Note: Palau"
. Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs.
Archived
from the original on January 21, 2017
. Retrieved
August 10,
2006
.
- ^
"The Senate and the House of Representative of Puerto Rico Concurrent Resolution"
(PDF)
.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on 2013-03-20
. Retrieved
2021-09-01
.
- ^
Acevedo, Nicole (December 15, 2022).
"House votes in favor of resolving Puerto Rico's territorial status"
.
NBC News
.
Archived
from the original on February 16, 2023
. Retrieved
February 15,
2023
.
- ^
a
b
Acevedo, Nicole (April 20, 2023).
"Bill to resolve Puerto Rico's territorial status reintroduced in the House"
. NBC News.
Archived
from the original on 8 June 2023
. Retrieved
9 June
2023
.
- ^
PBS Newshour,
"American Samoans don't have right to U.S. citizenship"
Archived
2017-09-15 at the
Wayback Machine
, Associated Press, June 5, 2015, viewed August 13, 2015.
- ^
US Department of Interior.
"Insular Area Summary for American Samoa"
Archived
2015-08-20 at the
Wayback Machine
. viewed August 13, 2015.
- ^
"Puerto Ricans pay import/export taxes"
. Stanford.wellsphere.com. Archived from
the original
on April 1, 2010
. Retrieved
August 14,
2010
.
- ^
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.
- ^
"Puerto Ricans pay federal commodity taxes"
. Stanford.wellsphere.com. Archived from
the original
on 2010-04-01
. Retrieved
2011-10-30
.
- ^
"Topic Number 903 - U.S. Employment Tax in Puerto Rico"
. Internal Revenue Service. December 18, 2009.
Archived
from the original on July 3, 2017
. Retrieved
January 11,
2019
.
- ^
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
.
- ^
"
"Foreign in a Domestic Sense": U.S. Territories and "Insular Areas"
"
. 12 April 2021.
Archived
from the original on 2021-08-19
. Retrieved
2021-08-30
.
- ^
United States Department of Interior (11 June 2015).
"Palmyra Atoll"
. Retrieved
December 30,
2023
.
- ^
United States Department of Interior (12 June 2015).
"Acquisition Process of Insular Areas"
. Retrieved
December 30,
2023
.
- ^
United States Department of the Interior (12 June 2015).
"Formerly Disputed Islands"
. Retrieved
December 30,
2023
.
External links
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edit
]
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