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An incorporated territory of the United States is a specific area under the jurisdiction of the United States, over which the United States Congress has determined that the United States Constitution is to be applied to the territory's local government and inhabitants in its entirety (e. g. citizenship, trial by jury), in the same manner as it applies to the local governments and residents of the U.S. states. In contrast, an unincorporated territory is an area under U.S. jurisdiction, to which Congress has determined that only select parts of the U.S. Constitution apply. Incorporated territories, therefore, are considered an integral part of the United States, as opposed to being merely possessions. [1]

The term "incorporated" in this sense does not refer to the act of creating a civil government entity (e.g. a city or a town).

Incorporation as it applies to territories is regarded as a permanent condition. Once incorporated, an incorporated territory can no longer be de-incorporated; that is, it can never be excluded from the jurisdiction of the United States Constitution (with a few exceptions; some territories belonging to the U.S. have been granted independence or ceded to foreign powers. See Rio Rico, Texas).

Contents 1 History 2 Classification of current U.S. territories 2.1 Incorporated organized territories 2.2 Incorporated unorganized territories 2.3 Unincorporated organized territories 2.4 Unincorporated unorganized territories 3 Classification of former U.S. territories & administered areas 3.1 Former incorporated organized territories of the United States 3.2 Former unincorporated territories of the United States (incomplete) 3.3 Former unincorporated territories of the United States under military government 3.4 Areas formerly administered by the United States (incomplete) 3.5 Other Zones 4 External links

Most of the historic territories of the United States, including all the ones that eventually became U.S. states, were incorporated organized territories, that is, incorporated territories for which Congress established a local civil government. The distinction between unincorporated territories and incorporated territories did not arise until the 20th century, following the acquisition by the United States of possessions arising from the Spanish-American War, including the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico. Previously, the United States had acquired territory only through annexation, with all territories being de facto incorporated territories.

The distinction between incorporated and unincorporated territories was clarified in the 1937 United States Supreme Court case People of Puerto Rico v. Shell Oil Co., in which the Court determined that the Sherman Antitrust Act, which had referred only to "territories," applied to Puerto Rico even though it was not an incorporated territory of the United States. See also: Insular Cases, and Guano Islands Act.

In the contemporary sense, the term "unincorporated territory" refers primarily to insular areas. There is currently only one incorporated territory, Palmyra Atoll, which is not an organized territory. Conversely, a territory can be organized without being an incorporated territory, a contemporary example being Puerto Rico.

April 11, 1899

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.

April 2, 1900

The Foraker Act organizes Puerto Rico.

June 7, 1900

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.

April 1, 1901

Emilio Aguinaldo, the Filipino leader in the Philippine-American War, surrenders allowing the United States to form a civilian government.

August 29, 1916

The Philippine Autonomy Act or Jones Law is signed promising the Philippines independence.

March 2, 1917

Jones-Shafroth Act reorganizes Puerto Rico.

March 31, 1917

The United States takes possession of the U.S. Virgin Islands under the terms of a treaty with Denmark.^[1]

May 17, 1932

The name of Porto Rico changed to Puerto Rico.^[2]

March 24, 1934

The Tydings-McDuffie Act is signed allowing the creation of the Commonwealth of the Philippines.

July 4, 1946

The United States recognized Philippine independence.

July 14, 1947

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.

July 1, 1950

The Guam Organic Act came into effect, organizing Guam as an unincorporated territory.^[3]

July 25, 1952

Puerto Rico became a Commonwealth of the United States, an unincorporated organized territory, with the ratification of its constitution.^[2]

July 22, 1954

The Organic Act for the United States Virgin Islands goes into effect, making them an unincorporated, organized territory.^[3]

July 1, 1967

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]

January 1, 1978

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]

October 21, 1986

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.

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, making Palau de facto independent, as it was not a territory of the United States.

October 1, 1994

Palau attained de jure independence, but remained in free association with the United States.^[5]

none since 1959

• Palmyra Atoll is privately owned by the Nature Conservancy and administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior. It is an archipelago of about 50 small islands about 1.56 square miles (4 km²) in area that lies about 1,000 miles (1,600 km) south of Honolulu. The atoll was acquired by the United States in the 1898 annexation of the Republic of Hawaii. When the Territory of Hawaii was incorporated on April 30, 1900, Palmyra Atoll was incorporated as part of that territory. However, when Hawaii became a state in 1959, Palmyra Atoll was explicitly separated from the state, but it remained an incorporated territory.

• Guam
• Northern Mariana Islands (commonwealth)
• Puerto Rico (commonwealth)
• United States Virgin Islands

• American Samoa, technically unorganized, but self-governing under a constitution last revised in 1967
• Baker Island, uninhabited
• Howland Island, uninhabited
• Jarvis Island, uninhabited
• Johnston Atoll, no indigenous inhabitants, only military personnel and contractors
• Kingman Reef, uninhabited
• Midway Islands, no indigenous inhabitants, currently included in the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge
• Navassa Island, uninhabited (claimed by Haiti)
• Wake Island, no indigenous inhabitants, only contractor personnel (claimed by the Marshall Islands)

See Organized incorporated territories of the United States for a complete list.

• Panama Canal Zone (1903-1999) - sovereignty returned to Panama under the Torrijos-Carter Treaties; the U.S. retains a military interest
• Line Islands (? -1979) -- Disputed claim with United Kingdom, all U.S. claims ceded to Kiribati upon its independence.
• Philippine Islands (1902-1935); Commonwealth of the Philippines (1935-1946) - Full independence in 1946.
• Phoenix Islands (? - 1979) -- Disputed claim with United Kingdom, all U.S. claims ceded to Kiribati upon its independence.
• Cuba (1898-1902) - sovereignty granted

• Puerto Rico (April 11, 1899-May 1,1900) - civil government operations began
• Philippines (April 11, 1899-July 4,1901) - civil government operations began
• Cuba (April 11, 1899-May 20,1902) - sovereignty granted as Republic of Cuba
• Guam (April 11, 1899-July 1,1950) - civil government operations began

• Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (1947-1986) -- included the Compact of Free Association nations (Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, and Palau) and the Northern Mariana Islands
• Ryukyu Islands (1952-1972) -- returned to Japanese control, included some other minor islands

• Austria and Vienna (1945-1955)
• Berlin (1945-1991)
• Germany (1945-1949)
• Japan (1945-1952)
• Rhineland (1918-1921?)
• South Korea (1945-1948)
• Iraq (March 20, 2003-June 28, 2004)

• FindLaw: Downes v. Bidwell, 182 U.S. 244 (1901) regarding the distinction between incorporated and unincorporated territories
• FindLaw: People of Puerto Rico v. Shell Co., 302 U.S. 253 (1937) regarding application of U.S. law to organized but unincorporated territories
• FindLaw: United States v. Standard Oil Company, 404 U.S. 558 (1972) regarding application of U.S. law to unorganized unincorporated territories
• Television Stations in U.S. Territories
• Unincorporated Territory
• Office of Insular Affairs