The U.S. Territories

The United States is made up of 50 states, plus five inhabited territories and the District of Columbia. Most Americans can recognize the 50 states and know that D.C. is the nation’s capital city, but they would have a hard time coming up with the list of U.S. territories. So what and where are the U.S. territories?

A list of U.S. territories

The United States exercises authority in a number of areas that are not states, sometimes called “possessions” in federal law.

There are five permanently inhabited U.S. territories, properties which belong to the United States without being fully part of the United States: American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI), and Puerto Rico.

American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands are located in the Pacific Ocean west of  Hawaii; the USVI and Puerto Rico are found in the Caribbean.

American Samoa

American Samoa is a U.S. territory with volcanic islands and lush tropical forests, located relatively close to Australia. It is easy to confuse American Samoa with Samoa, a nearby independent nation in the South Pacific Ocean.

The two areas used to be more closely affiliated, but in the mid-1800s, a dispute arose over control of the Samoan archipelago, and different local chiefs sought support from Germany, the United Kingdom, and the U.S. According to a CIA history, in 1872, the high chief of Tutuila offered the U.S. exclusive rights to the Pago Pago harbor in return for US protection.  This deal came together in 1878. In 1899, with continued disputes over succession, Germany and the U.S. agreed to divide the Samoan islands, while the UK withdrew its claims in exchange for parts of the Solomon Islands. Local chiefs on Tutuila formally ceded their land to the U.S. in 1900, followed by the chief of Manu’a in 1904. The territory was officially named “American Samoa” in 1911.

Germany lost control of its Samoan colony after World War I, and New Zealand administered Samoa until it gained independence in 1961. American Samoa continues as a territory of the United States. The inhabitants are U.S. nationals, but have not requested or acquired U.S. citizenship.

Guam

Guam is a territory of the United States, the southernmost island of the Mariana Islands, in the region of Micronesia. Guam was first inhabited by the Chamorro  and was colonized by Spain in the 17th century. Spain ceded Guam to the United States in 1898 following the Spanish-American War, along with the Philippines, Cuba, and Puerto Rico.

Guam was initially governed by the U.S. Navy but is now self governing.  As in Puerto Rico, people from Guam are U.S. citizens but cannot vote in U.S. presidential elections. Guam is home to just under 200,000 people. The territory has a statehood movement, but a 1976 plebiscite saw “Status Quo with Improvements” win with 51 percent of the vote. Just over 20 percent voted for statehood and just 5 percent for independence.

In the 1990s, bills were presented in Congress to make Guam a “commonwealth.” Just as with Puerto Rico, the U.S. Department of Justice determined that the proposed “commonwealth” status option was unconstitutional, and the Guam Commonwealth Act died in committee. The territory has a Commission on Decolonization.  Its purpose is to educate the people of Guam about the political status options available, should Guam seek a change in its political status and relationship with the United States. The Commission on Decolonization is comprised of ten members of the community and the Governor of Guam. It is administered by the Governor’s Office.

The Northern Mariana Islands

The Northern Mariana Islands, also known as the CNMI (Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands), is a U.S. territory in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. The CNMI consists of 14 islands, the northernmost chain of the Mariana Islands archipelago. Guam, the southernmost island, is a separate U.S. territory. The islands are a mix of volcanic peaks, some still active, and limestone formations with coral reefs.

Like Guam, the CNMI was first inhabited by the Chamorro and was colonized by Spain in the 17th century. After the Spanish-American War, Germany bought the islands from Spain under a 1899 treaty but later sold the islands to Japan. The United States captured the islands from Japan during World War II and administered them as part of the U.N. Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, along with what is now Palau, the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), and the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). In the 1970s, the latter three chose to become independent nations and ultimately signed Compacts of Free Association with the United States, but the CNMI chose to become a U.S. Territory at least in part so that its people could have U.S. citizenship.

People born in CNMI acquired U.S. citizenship in 1986. The population of the islands is just under 50,000.

The U.S. Virgin Islands

The U.S. Virgin Islands consists of the main islands of Saint Croix, Saint John, and Saint Thomas, plus 50 other surrounding minor islands and cays. The total land area of the territory is 133.73 square miles and the population is 105,413. The territory’s capital is Charlotte Amalie on the island of St. Thomas. The U.S. Virgin Islands are a popular tourist destination.

The Carib were the original inhabitants of the islands, but Columbus claimed them for Spain in 1492. Danish, English, Dutch, and French settlers lived there at various times through the 15th and 16th centuries, and England held the islands for several years before Spain reclaimed them in 1650. Spain sold them to France, and France sold them to Denmark. The United States bought them from Denmark in 1917, following a very positive vote by the inhabitants. The islands were at that time an important strategic location.

People born in the U.S. Virgin Islands gained U.S. citizenship in 1932. As a territory, the USVI has no senators, no voting members in Congress, and no right to vote in presidential elections, but it does have a non-voting delegate in Congress. In the most recent status vote, in 1993, the majority voted to continue as a territory. This year’s State of the Territory address did not mention political status at all.

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico, inhabited first by the Taino and colonized by Spain for over 400 years, came into the possession of the United States when Spain ceded the Island to the U.S. after the Spanish-American War in 1898. Puerto Rico is home to about 90% of all the inhabitants of U.S. territories. People born in Puerto Rico gained U.S. citizenship in 1917, and the territory passed its constitution – called the “Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico” – in 1952. The status of the Island did not change. Puerto Rico is still a territory.

As a territory of the United States, Puerto Rico has no senators, no voting member of Congress, and no vote in presidential elections. Like the other territories, Puerto Rico does not receive equal federal benefits with the states; indeed, Puerto Rico is not covered under some programs which are available in other territories, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

Puerto Rico has held six plebiscites, and statehood has been the voters’ choice in the last three — all the plebiscites held in this century. Numerous bills for statehood have been introduced in Congress, and there are currently versions of the Puerto Rico Status Act pending in both the House and the Senate. While interest in independence peaked in the mid 1900’s and has fallen, there has been an active statehood movement in Puerto Rico since it became a territory of the United States.