Territories of the United States

The territories of the United States are administrative areas under the control of the federal government in Washington, DC. As of 2024, the United States had fourteen territories. Only five of those territories—American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands—were inhabited. The total population of the US territories was about 3.6 million in 2023. The territories are not states, but some do elect local governors and have limited representation in the US Congress. Depending on the status of the territories, their residents may be American citizens, although with fewer voting rights than the residents of the fifty states. In the history of the United States, many former territories eventually became states, while others became independent nations.

Brief History

Driven by improvements in sailing technology and the desire for wealth and natural resources, Portugal and Spain began a wave of European colonization in the late fifteenth century. The nations explored and claimed territory from the Americas, to the coasts of Africa, and into Asia. By the sixteenth century, France, Great Britain, and the Netherlands had joined in the race to acquire colonial land.

In 1776, a group of thirteen British colonies in North America rebelled and declared their independence from England. The newly formed United States initially had no interest in expanding its overseas territory. It was more concerned with pushing westward across its own continent. In the Treaty of Paris, which officially ended the Revolutionary War in 1783, the United States received the Northwest Territory, a large chunk of British land around the Great Lakes.

In 1787, Congress enacted the Northwest Ordinance, which set up rules to govern the territory and establish policies for the admission of new states. Under the ordinance, the residents of a territory could elect a local government when its population surpassed five thousand. When its population reached sixty thousand, it could apply for statehood. To complete the process, the request for statehood needed to be approved by Congress. In 1803, Ohio became the first state from the Northwest Territory admitted to the United States.

The United States acquired more territories during the nineteenth century, and the country grew as more states were formed. Congress revised its statehood criteria for US territories several times to adjust for larger populations and shifting political priorities. While continental expansion remained a priority, the United States used an unusual justification to acquire its first overseas territories in the mid-nineteenth century.

American farmers had long valued the droppings of seabirds as a natural fertilizer. The substance was in such demand that it was selling for about one quarter the price of gold at the time. In 1856, Congress passed the Guano Islands Act, which allowed the United States to take possession of any unclaimed island on which bird droppings were found. Under the law, the United States claimed several small Pacific islands, including Palmyra Atoll, Kingman Reef, and Baker, Howland, and Jarvis Islands.

By the late nineteenth century, the European powers had already claimed most of Africa, South America, and Asia as colonial holdings. The United States, now a well-established power of its own, decided it wanted to assert itself on the world stage. In April 1898, the United States entered into a war with Spain over the issue of Cuban independence. Cuba was a Spanish colony. The Spanish-American War lasted just four months and ended with a decisive American victory. As part of the peace treaty, the United States received the Spanish colonies of Cuba, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. Cuba remained a US territory for just four years before it was granted independence in 1902. The Philippines achieved independence in 1946.

Overview

The Congress of the United States can designate territories in two ways. Territories can either be incorporated or unincorporated; they may also be organized or unorganized. Incorporated territories are considered to be part of the United States, with full rights on par with the states. Alaska and Hawaii were incorporated territories before they became states in 1959. As of 2024, the only incorporated US territory was Palmyra Atoll, an uninhabited nature reserve that is part of the Hawaiian island chain. The remaining thirteen territories are considered to be unincorporated.

Organized territories are those that have an organized local government that meets guidelines established by Congress. Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands are classified as organized territories. They are administered by a territorial governor and a legislative assembly.

Residents of the organized territories are considered US citizens and are allowed to travel anywhere within the United States. They pay taxes on Social Security and Medicare and are covered under those programs; however, they do not pay federal income tax unless they work in the United States. Residents can vote in local and primary elections, but they do not have a vote in the general presidential election. The territories are represented in Congress by a non-voting delegate to the House of Representatives. The delegate can offer input on legislation and sit on committees.

Of the ten unorganized and unincorporated territories, only American Samoa is inhabited. American Samoa also has a local governor, legislative assembly, and non-voting House representative; however, residents of American Samoa are not US citizens. They are considered US nationals. US nationals can travel freely within the country but cannot vote and cannot hold public office if they move to the United States. They may apply for full citizenship if they choose.

The remaining US territories are all uninhabited islands or island chains. In the Pacific, these include Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, the Midway Islands, and Wake Island. Navassa Island lies between Jamaica and Haiti.

The largest US territory is Puerto Rico, a 3,459 square mile (8,959 square kilometer) island located about 1,100 miles (1,770 kilometers) southeast of Florida. Puerto Rico's total area is larger than the states of Rhode Island and Delaware. Its 2023 population of about 3.2 million would be more than the population of twenty-one states. Its capital is San Juan. According to Macrotrends, San Juan's metro population in 2023 was about 2.4 million.

Christopher Columbus landed on the island in 1493 during his second voyage to the New World. Columbus claimed the land for Spain and originally named it San Juan Bautista. After gold was discovered on the island, its name was changed to Puerto Rico, or "rich port." The island remained under Spanish control until it was turned over to the United States in 1898.

In the early twentieth century, Puerto Rico was primarily a sugar-producing territory. By mid-century, however, it had reworked its economy to focus on manufacturing and tourism. The island's residents received US citizenship in 1917, and in 1952, Puerto Rico approved its own constitution and became a commonwealth. Initially, many native Puerto Ricans favored the territory becoming an independent nation. As time wore on, attitudes began to shift toward statehood. In a 2024 election, a majority of the island's residents voted in favor of statehood. However, this and previous elections favoring statehood were nonbinding, and any future decision rests with the US Congress.

The island of Guam is about 3,900 miles (6,276 kilometers) west of the Hawaiian islands and about 1,550 miles (2,496 kilometers) southeast of Japan. Guam has an area of about 210 square miles (544 square kilometers) and had a 2024 population of 169,532, according to the World Factbook. More than 95 percent of the population lived in urban areas.

In March 1521, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan landed on Guam as part of a Spanish expedition. Magellan was killed a month later, but his expedition became the first to find an ocean route around the world. Guam is technically part of the Mariana Islands and was partially settled by refugees from the Marianas forced from their homes by the Spanish.

After being ceded to the United States after the Spanish-American War, Guam remained a US territory until December 7, 1941, when it was captured by the Japanese just hours after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The United States retook the island in 1944, and the people of Guam were granted US citizenship in 1950. Almost 30 percent of the island is covered by American military bases, making defense spending the main contributor to its economy. Guam is located on the western side of the International Date Line and touts itself as the place "where America starts its day."

The US Virgin Islands comprise the Caribbean islands of St. Croix, St. Thomas, and St. John. They have a land area of about 134 square miles (346 square kilometers) spread out over 737 square miles (1,910 square kilometers) of ocean. St. Thomas and St. John are located to the north, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) west of Puerto Rico. The largest island, St. Croix, is about 43 miles (69 kilometers) to the south of St. Thomas. In 2024, the US Virgin Islands had a population of 104,377, according to the World Factbook.

While the islands were visited by Columbus in 1493, they changed hands several times until falling under the control of Denmark in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. The Danish West Indies, as the islands were called, became a haven for pirates. The economy was slave-based and driven by sugar cane exports. When slavery was abolished in the nineteenth century, the economy of the Danish West Indies suffered. In 1917, the United States purchased St. Croix, St. Thomas, and St. John from the Danish for $25 million. The islands were transformed into popular tourist destinations, welcoming almost three million visitors a year by the twenty-first century. As of 2024, about half the civilian population was employed in the tourism and trade industries, which accounted for close to 60 percent of the islands' economy.

The Northern Mariana Islands are a chain of fourteen islands in the South Pacific just north of Guam. The islands have a total land area of about 179 square miles (464 square kilometers). The largest inhabited island in the chain is Saipan at 46.5 square miles (120 square kilometers). About 94 percent of the islands' 2023 population of 45,143 lived on Saipan. The other inhabited islands in the chain are Rota, Tinian, Anatahan, Alamagan, and Agrihan.

After the Spanish-American War, Spain turned over the Northern Mariana Islands to Germany, while the United States acquired Guam. Japan captured the islands during World War I (1914–1918). The United Nations officially granted the islands to Japan after the war. During World War II (1939–1945), the United States liberated the Northern Mariana Islands in the Battle of Saipan in July 1944. Just over a year later, Tinian Island was used as the launching point for both atomic bomb missions to Japan.

At the war's end, the United Nations placed many of Japan's island territories under the trust of the United States. While other islands placed in US trust chose to seek independence, the people of the Northern Mariana Islands pushed for territory status. The islands became an official US territory in 1978.

American Samoa comprises a group of seven islands about 2,550 miles (4,104 kilometers) south of Hawaii. The islands have a land area of about 77 square miles (199 square kilometers). The largest and most populated island is Tutuila, home to the capital of Pago Pago. In 2024, American Samoa had about 43,895 inhabitants, and most lived in Pago Pago.

Dutch explorers first landed on the Samoan islands in 1722. By the nineteenth century, Pago Pago became one of the primary whaling ports in the Pacific Ocean. In 1872, a US naval commander struck a deal with a local chief to use Pago Pago for a harbor. Two decades later, the islands were at the center of a dispute between Germany, Britain, and the United States. In 1899, an agreement was reached granting Germany control of the western Samoan Islands and the United States control of the eastern half. The western Samoans became the independent nation of Samoa in 1962.

American Samoa was primarily administered by the US Navy until 1951, when control was turned over to the Department of the Interior. The territory approved a constitution in the 1960s and held its first elections in 1978. Because of its remote location, American Samoa is not a popular tourist destination. Its economy is largely powered by the tuna fishing industry.

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