Territories of the United States
Territories of the United States are subnational geographical and political areas governed as administrative divisions and dependent territories under the sovereignty of the United States. Although all are subject to the constitutional and territorial jurisdiction of the U.S. federal government, territories differ from states and Indian reservations in that they are not inherently sovereign. While states have dual sovereignty and Native American tribes have tribal sovereignty in relation to the federal government, the self-governing powers of territories ultimately derive from the U.S. Congress, as per the Territorial Clause in Article IV of the U.S. Constitution. Territories are classified as "organized" or "unorganized" depending on whether they operate under an organic act, and "incorporated" or "unincorporated" depending on whether the U.S. Constitution applies fully or partially to them. As areas belonging to, but not integral parts of, the U.S., territories are their own distinct nations centered around a collective identity based on their land, history, ethnicity, culture, and language.
All territories of the U.S. are insular areas. The U.S. has sovereignty over three archipelagos or islands in the Caribbean Sea and eleven in the Pacific Ocean. Five territories are permanently inhabited, unincorporated territories; the other nine, known as the United States Minor Outlying Islands, are small islands, atolls, and reefs with no native population. Of the 14, only one is classified as an incorporated territory. Two additional territories are claimed by the U.S. but administered by Colombia. Historically, territories were created to administer newly acquired land, and most eventually attained statehood. The most recent territory to become a U.S. state was Hawaii on August 21, 1959.
Residents of the U.S. territories cannot vote in United States presidential elections, and they have only non-voting representation in the U.S. Congress. According to 2012 data, territorial telecommunications and other infrastructure are generally inferior to that of the continental U.S. and Hawaii. Poverty rates are higher in the territories than in the states, though these figures do not take into account indigenous and trust land ownership that exists across the U.S. territories of CNMI, Guam, and American Samoa. Three of the territories, namely the United States Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and Guam, are on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories maintained by the Special Committee on Decolonization.
The territories have embraced a variety of strategies towards their relationship with the United States, with some advocating for closer integration into the United States, and others opting to remain as independent as possible. Several territories retain collective or trust ownership of native or indigenous lands, speak their indigenous or native languages, and retain indigenous cultural practices which might not survive under full incorporation to the United States framework. Residents of some U.S. territories enjoy a high quality of life, for instance in Guam, which has comparable health to the United States, and American Samoa, which has a crude death rate of 7.2 per 1,000, compared to the United States rate of 9.2 per 1,000. Research suggests that indigenous diets and lifestyles play a positive role in Samoans' health, particularly neonatal mortality rates.
Organized vs. [|unorganized] territories
Definitions
Organized territories are lands under federal sovereignty that were given a measure of self-governance by Congress through an organic act subject to the Congress's plenary powers under the Territorial Clause of the Constitution's Article Four, section 3. The term unorganized historically had two applications. One application was to a newly acquired region not yet constituted as an organized incorporated territory. The other was to a region that was previously part of an organized incorporated territory, but subsequently left "unorganized" after part of it had been organized and had achieved the requirements for statehood.Historical practice
The Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854 created the Kansas and Nebraska Territories, bringing organized government to the region once again. The creation of Kansas and Nebraska left the Indian Territory as the only unorganized territory in the Great Plains. In 1858, the western part of the Minnesota Territory became unorganized when it was not included in the new state of Minnesota; this area was organized in 1861 as part of the Dakota Territory. In 1890, the western half of the Indian Territory was organized as Oklahoma Territory. The eastern half remained unorganized until 1907, when it was joined with Oklahoma Territory to form the State of Oklahoma. Additionally, the Department of Alaska was unorganized from its acquisition in 1867 from Russia until organized as the District of Alaska in 1884; it was organized as Alaska Territory in 1912. Hawaii was also unorganized from the time of its annexation by the U.S. in 1898 until organized as Hawaii Territory in 1900.Regions that have been admitted as states under the United States Constitution in addition to the original thirteen were, most often, prior to admission, territories or parts of territories of this kind. As the United States grew, the most populous parts of the organized territory would achieve statehood. Some territories existed only a short time before becoming states, while others remained territories for decades. The shortest-lived was Alabama Territory at two years, while New Mexico Territory and Hawaii Territory both lasted more than 50 years.
Of the 50 states, 31 were once part of an organized, incorporated U.S. territory. In addition to the original 13, six subsequent states never were: Kentucky, Maine, and West Virginia were each separated from an existing state; Texas and Vermont were both sovereign states when they entered the Union; and California was part of unorganized land ceded to the United States by Mexico in 1848 at the end of the Mexican–American War.
Federal administration of current territories
All of the five major U.S. territories are permanently inhabited and 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. All of the U.S. territories without permanent non-military populations are unorganized.The Office of Insular Affairs coordinates federal administration of the U.S. territories and freely associated states, except for Puerto Rico.
On March 3, 1849, the last day of the 30th Congress, a bill was passed to create the U.S. Department of the Interior to take charge of the internal affairs of United States territory. The Interior Department has a wide range of responsibilities.
In contrast to similarly named Departments in other countries, the United States Department of the Interior is not responsible for local government or for civil administration except in the cases of Indian reservations, through the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and island dependencies administered by the Office of Insular Affairs.
Permanently inhabited territories
The U.S. has five permanently inhabited territories: Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands in the Caribbean Sea, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands in the North Pacific Ocean, and American Samoa in the South Pacific Ocean. American Samoa is in the Southern Hemisphere, while the other four are in the Northern Hemisphere. In 2020, their combined population was about 3.62 million, over 90% of which is accounted for by Puerto Rico alone.People born in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands acquire U.S. citizenship by birth, and foreign nationals residing there may apply for U.S. citizenship by naturalization. People born in American Samoa acquire U.S. nationality but not U.S. citizenship by birth if they do not have a U.S. citizen parent, as the American Samoan people have consistently refused birthright citizenship, fearing this would undermine indigenous land ownership, governance, and culture. U.S. nationals without U.S. citizenship may hold U.S. passports and reside in any part of the United States without restriction. However, to become U.S. citizens they must apply for naturalization, like foreigners, and may only do so while residing in parts of the United States other than American Samoa. Foreign nationals residing in American Samoa cannot apply for U.S. citizenship or U.S. nationality at all.
Each territory is self-governing with three branches of government, including a locally elected governor and a territorial legislature. Each territory elects a non-voting member to the U.S. House of Representatives. Although they cannot vote on the passage of legislation, they can introduce legislation, have floor privileges to address the house, be members of and vote in committees, are assigned offices and staff funding, and may nominate constituents from their territories to the Army, Naval, Air Force and Merchant Marine academies.
As of the 119th Congress, the territories are represented by Uifa’atali Aumua Amata Radewagen of American Samoa, James Moylan of Guam, Kimberlyn King-Hinds of Northern Mariana Islands, Pablo Hernández Rivera of Puerto Rico and Stacey Plaskett of U.S. Virgin Islands. The District of Columbia's delegate is Eleanor Holmes Norton ; like the district, the territories have no vote in Congress and no representation in the Senate. Additionally, the Cherokee Nation has delegate-elect Kimberly Teehee, who has not been seated by Congress.
Every four years, U.S. political parties nominate presidential candidates at conventions which include delegates from the territories. U.S. citizens living in the territories can vote for presidential candidates in these primary elections but not in the general election.
The territorial capitals are Pago Pago, Hagåtña, Saipan, San Juan and Charlotte Amalie. Their governors are Pula Nikolao Pula, Lou Leon Guerrero, David M. Apatang, Jenniffer González-Colón and Albert Bryan Jr..
Among the inhabited territories, Supplemental Security Income is available only in the Northern Mariana Islands; however, in 2019 a U.S. judge ruled that the federal government's denial of SSI benefits to residents of Puerto Rico is unconstitutional. This ruling was later overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, allowing for the exclusion of territories from such programs. In the decision, the court explained that the exemption of island residents from most federal income taxes provides a "rational basis" for their exclusion from eligibility for SSI payments.
American Samoa is the only U.S. territory with its own immigration system. American Samoa also has a communal land system in which 90% of the land is communally owned; ownership is based on the Samoan system of governance, in which a political entity called a matai own land communally and administers it on behalf of the polity or nu'u.
| Name | Location | Area | Population | Capital | Official language | Largest town | Status | Acquired |
 American Samoaconvert|197.1|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on|sortable=onrefn|group=note|American Samoa, technically unorganized, is de facto organized. |