Is Guam a US territory?
Guam
Guam (; Chamorro: "" ) is an unincorporated and organized territory of the United States in Micronesia in the western Pacific Ocean. It is the easternmost point and territory of the United States, along with the Northern Mariana Islands. The capital city of Guam is Hagåtña and the most populous city is Dededo. The inhabitants of Guam are called Guamanians, and they are American citizens by birth. Indigenous Guamanians are the Chamorros, who are related to other Austronesian natives to the west in the Philippines and Taiwan.
List of U.S. states and territories by historical population
As the United States has grown in area and population, new states have been formed out of U.S. territories or the division of existing states. The population figures provided here reflect modern state boundaries. Shaded areas of the tables indicate census years when a territory or the part of another state had not yet been admitted as a new state. As of 2019, 6 regions of the U.S. (the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands) remain non-states.
List of earthquakes in Guam
Earthquakes in Guam are infrequent but are often accompanied by tsunami. The small island, which is an unincorporated and organized territory of the United States, lies at the extreme southern end of the Mariana Islands and at the eastern margin of the Philippine Sea Plate.
Battle of Guam (1944)
The Second Battle of Guam (21 July – 10 August 1944) was the American recapture of the Japanese-held island of Guam, a U.S. territory in the Mariana Islands captured by the Japanese from the U.S. in the 1941 First Battle of Guam during the Pacific campaign of World War II.
Guam
Guam is also a major hub for submarine cables between the Western U.S., Hawaii, Australia and Asia. Guam currently serves twelve submarine cables, with most continuing to China.
In 1899, the local postage stamps were overprinted "Guam" as was done for the other former Spanish colonies, but this was discontinued shortly thereafter and regular U.S. postage stamps have been used ever since. Because Guam is also part of the U.S. Postal System (postal abbreviation: GU, ZIP code range: 96910–96932), mail to Guam from the U.S. mainland is considered domestic and no additional charges are required. Private shipping companies, such as FedEx, UPS, and DHL, however, have no obligation to do so, and do not regard Guam as domestic.
Divorce mill
Because Guam is a territory of the United States, its courts are United States jurisdictional courts and the divorces it issues are valid in all of the states in the U.S. Prior to January 1, 2006, Guam allowed for an uncontested divorce without either spouse visiting the territory at all - one of the few places if not the only that allowed this. After being charged as a "divorce mill", an agreement was made by the politicians of the territory with the lawyers and other lobbyists who did not want to change the law, to require a seven-day stay in Guam (as opposed to the much longer ones proposed by the legislators) to obtain a divorce. Guam allows for "irreconcilable differences" as a cause for divorce, and Guam is much quicker to award a finalized divorce than many U.S. states, taking a few weeks at most. Before the law was changed, it was a very attractive alternative for many Americans, as it was also quite affordable. However, with the seven-day stay requirement and its location in Southeast Asia, a trip there can be very expensive and may not be a viable alternative for many Americans.
Deez Nuts (politician)
Deez Nuts believes that residents of American overseas territories deserve voting rights. He has expressed the need for the people of American Samoa to become citizens of the United States and receive one electoral vote, due to its status as an unincorporated territory (American Samoans are currently U.S. nationals, but not U.S. citizens). Nuts would give Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands two electoral votes and give Puerto Rico three electoral votes, bringing the total number of electoral votes to 548 from 538. Nuts also believes that all five territories and the District of Columbia should each have their own one voting representation (as opposed to a non-voting delegates) in the House of Representatives, bringing the seats in the House to 441 from 435.
Guam
After World War II, the Guam Organic Act of 1950 established Guam as an unincorporated organized territory of the United States, provided for the structure of the island's civilian government, and granted the people U.S. citizenship. The Governor of Guam was federally appointed until 1968, when the Guam Elective Governor Act provided for the office's popular election. Since Guam is not a U.S. state, U.S. citizens residing on Guam are not allowed to vote for president and their congressional representative is a non-voting member. They do, however, get to vote for party delegates in presidential primaries.
Geography of the United States
The capital city, Washington, District of Columbia, is a federal district located on land donated by the state of Maryland. (Virginia had also donated land, but it was returned in 1849.) The United States also has overseas territories with varying levels of independence and organization: in the Caribbean the territories of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and in the Pacific the inhabited territories of Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands, along with a number of uninhabited island territories.
Guam Army National Guard
The Guam Army National Guard (GU ARNG) is the Army National Guard of Guam which, together with the Guam Air National Guard, comprises the Guam National Guard. GU ARNG is the ground component of the Guam National Guard under control of the governor of Guam that performs missions equivalent to those of the Army National Guards of the different states of the United States, including ground defense, disaster relief, and control of civil unrest.
Catholic Church in Guam
Catholicism on the island was a product of centuries of Spanish colonial control as the island was part of the Spanish East Indies until 1898, when the United States acquired it after the Spanish–American War.
Guam
Before World War II, there were five American jurisdictions in the Pacific Ocean: Guam and Wake Island in Micronesia, American Samoa and Hawaii in Polynesia, and the Philippines.
History of Guam
Guam's U.S. military installations remain among the most strategically vital in the Pacific Ocean. When the United States closed its Naval and Air Force bases in the Philippines after the expiration of their leases in the early 1990s, many of the forces stationed there were relocated to Guam.
Edward D. Taussig
On February 1, Sisto officially relinquished control of the governmental and administrative affairs of Guam to Taussig and Cottman. The American flag was raised over the Governor's Palace in a ceremony that ended with a 21-gun salute from the , formally ending nearly 300 years of Guam being part of the Spanish colonial empire. In his short time on Guam, Commander Taussig set up a local council system of temporary government which lasted until the arrival of Lieutenant Louis A. Kaiser in July 1899 under orders to conduct navy surveillance of affairs of Guam. Taussig also supervised the establishment of signal stations and a port survey. On April 15, 1899, Admiral George Dewey cabled the Navy Department in Washington, " arrived six days from Guam. Quiet and order there. Most friendly to Americans. Native Government established by Taussig working well. Native soldiers fine body of men. (United States Naval Transport) in Guam."
Edward D. Taussig
Departing from Wake Island at 5:35 p.m. on 17 January 1899, arrived at Guam on 23 January 1899. The island previously had been captured on 21 June 1898 by Captain Henry Glass of the who had left Francisco Portusach Martínez, an American civilian, in charge of the territory. Captain Glass is reported to have told Martinez, the only American on Guam, to "take care of the island until some other officers or man-of-war might reach Guam." Although this has never been confirmed by the U.S. Navy, it was widely believed to be true. Martinez had been deposed in favor of non-American leadership under José Sisto and then Venancio Roberto, each laying competing claims to governance. Venancio Roberto's claim was rebuked in favor of Sisto by Lieutenant Commander Vincendon L. Cottman, commander of the U.S. Navy collier that had arrived at Guam on New Year’s Day 1899 en route back to the U.S from the Spanish–American War. However Sisto's authority was short-lived.
Government of Guam
Guam's Federal District Court is housed on the 4th floor of the U.S. Courthouse, 520 West Soledad Avenue, in Hagåtña, Guam. Its lone federal District Court Chief Judge is one of the few Article IV territorial judgeships, appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate to a ten-year term. The current Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court of Guam is The Hon. Frances Marie Tydingco-Gatewood, the first female Chamorro federal judge for the United States.
Gaan River
The Gaan River is a river in the United States territory of Guam.
Geography of Guam
This article describes the geography of the United States territory of Guam.This is a list of the extreme points of Guam, the points that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location.
2006 United States gubernatorial elections
In the U.S. territory of Guam, in the western Pacific Ocean, Republican Governor Felix P. Camacho was challenged by Democrat Robert Underwood. A former Guam Delegate-at-Large in the U.S. House of Representatives, Underwood had previously represented Guam from 1993 to 2003. The race was a rematch of the 2002 gubernatorial election in which Camacho handily defeated Underwood and won his first term in office by 10 points (see Politics of Guam). However, the race was significantly more close and competitive in 2006, with Camacho narrowly winning reelection by a 2-point margin over Underwood.
Guam
The U.S. military maintains jurisdiction over its bases, which cover approximately , or 29% of the island's total land area:
Territories of the United States
The U.S. has sixteen territories in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. Five of the territories are permanently inhabited and are classified as unincorporated territories—they are American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The other eleven territories are small islands, atolls, and reefs with no native or permanent population. Of those eleven, only one is classified as an incorporated territory. Two territories (Bajo Nuevo Bank and Serranilla Bank) are administered by Colombia.
Guam Highway 2
Guam Highway 2 is one of the primary automobile routes in the United States territory of Guam.
United States territory
The fifty states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico form the main customs territory of the United States. Special rules apply to foreign trade zones in these areas. Separate customs territories are formed by American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Flags of country subdivisions (Oceania)
The Federated States of Micronesia is a federal republic that has entered into a compact of free association with the United States. It has four states, each of which has its own official flag.
Guam is a self-governing territory of the United States. It has no first-order administrative divisions.
Battle of Guam (1941)
Guam is the southernmost part of the Mariana Islands in the Pacific Ocean. It is the largest of the islands, with an area of 225 square miles. Guam's interior is rugged, with heavy tropical forest in the north of the island and wooded hills in the south. Much of the island's coastline is edged with coral reefs and cliffs, though beaches suitable for landing troops exist in the center of the west coast. Guam has a tropical climate, though December forms part of the dry season.
Guam Highway 10A
Guam Highway 10A (GH-10A) is one of the primary automobile highways in the United States territory of Guam.
Government of Guam
On August 1, 1950, President Truman signed into law the Guam Organic Act of 1950 which gave Guamanians certain rights and protections under the U.S. Constitution. The people of Guam were afforded the opportunity to set and administer policy and laws for the island of Guam. Included in this was the Judicial Branch of the Government of Guam.
Mariana Islands
The direct result of World War II on the Mariana Islands was that, after the war, the Northern Mariana Islands came under control of the United States in the same way they had earlier come under the control of Japan after World War I. However, this time they became part of the U.S.-administered Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI) established pursuant to Security Council Resolution 21. The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands later became a U.S. territory following its exit from the TTPI pursuant to Security Council Resolution 683. Although now both under U.S. control, the Northern Mariana Islands have not reunited with the territory of Guam, in part due to residual post-war tensions resulting from the very different histories of Guam (occupied by Japan for only 31 months, in wartime) and the Northern Mariana Islands (more peacefully occupied by Japan, for about 30 years). See the main articles above for discussion of present-day politics in these territorial areas.
Ligum River
The Ligum River is a river in the United States territory of Guam.
Postage stamps and postal history of Guam
When the United States Post Office Department (USPOD) took charge of the postal service of Guam in March 1901, the local population, soldiers from the US Navy base and indigenous Chamorros, had to use US stamps without any distinctive marks. Since 1901, only a Guam town cancellation indicates domestic posting. This situation is common to others insular unincorporated territories of the United States, such as, Northern Mariana Islands since 1944, Virgin Islands since 1917, Puerto Rico since 1900 and American Samoa since 1899. The existence of a local post at the beginning of the 1930s and the Japan occupation periods were exceptions.
District Court of Guam
The District Court of Guam (in case citations, D. Guam) is a United States territorial court with jurisdiction over the United States territory of Guam. It sits in the capital, Hagåtña. Appeals of the court's decisions are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. It is not an Article III court, and therefore its judges do not have life tenure.
U.S. state
Other possible new states are Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, both of which are unincorporated organized territories of the United States. Also, either the Northern Mariana Islands or American Samoa, an unorganized, unincorporated territory, could seek statehood.
History of Guam
The 1910 Catholic Encyclopedia said of Guam, "of its total population of 11,490 (11,159 natives), Hagåtña, the capital, contains about 8,000. Possessing a good harbor, the island serves as a United States naval station, the naval commandant acting also as governor. The products of the island are maize, copra, rice, sugar, and valuable timber." Military officers governed the island as "USS "Guam"", and the United States Navy opposed proposals for civilian government until 1950.
Guam Highway 10
Guam Highway 10 (GH-10) is one of the primary automobile highways in the United States territory of Guam.
Guam Organic Act of 1950
The Organic Act (as it became known on Guam) provided for:Guam was later granted a non-voting delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives. The Guam delegate is an official part of Congress, and can serve on committees, but cannot vote on legislation. See: Delegate (United States Congress)
Vehicle registration plates of Guam
The U.S. unincorporated territory of Guam first required its residents to register their motor vehicles and display license plates in 1916.
Mount Bolanos
Mount Bolanos is a south-west peak in the United States territory of Guam.
Guam Organic Act of 1950
The Guam Organic Act of 1950, ( "et seq.") is a United States federal law that redesignated the island of Guam as an unincorporated territory of the United States, established executive, legislative, and judicial branches, and transferred federal jurisdiction from the United States Navy to the Department of the Interior. For the first time in over three hundred years of foreign colonization, the people of Guam had some measure of self-governance, however limited.
History of same-sex marriage in the United States
The Pacific island of Guam was set to be the first U.S. territory to offer legal same-sex marriage after Elizabeth Barrett-Anderson, Guam's attorney general, directed the territorial Department of Public Health and Social Services to begin processing same-sex marriage licenses on April 15, 2015. However, the department director and Governor Eddie Calvo pushed back on Barrett-Anderson's directive, which they said was not binding.
Guam High School (Guam)
Guam High School (GHS or GMHS) is a U.S. military operated secondary school located at 401 Stitt Street in Agana Heights in the United States territory Guam.
Asan, Guam
Asan () is a village located on the western shore of the United States territory of Guam. The municipality of Asan-Maina combines Asan with Maina, a community in the hills to the east. It was a primary landing site for United States Marines during Guam's liberation from the Japanese during World War II. Asan Beach Park is part of the War in the Pacific National Historic Park. Asan and Maina are located in the Luchan (Western) District.
Guam
In the 1980s and early 1990s, there was a significant movement in favor of this U.S. territory becoming a commonwealth, which would give it a level of self-government similar to Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands. However, the federal government rejected the version of a commonwealth that the government of Guam proposed, because its clauses were incompatible with the Territorial Clause (Art. IV, Sec. 3, cl. 2) of the U.S. Constitution. Other movements advocate U.S. statehood for Guam, union with the state of Hawaii, or union with the Northern Mariana Islands as a single territory, or independence.
Guam Highway 11
Guam Highway 11 (GH-11) is one of the primary automobile highways in the United States territory of Guam. 
This spur route from GH-1 runs westward along Cabras Island, a narrow peninsula which forms the northern edge of Apra Harbor. This area houses Guam's commercial port facilities, making GH-11 an important transport route. The Port Authority of Guam is located on this highway within the port facilities. The road's designation ends at the control gate to the access road leading out to the man-made Glass Breakwater.
Same-sex marriage in Guam
Guam was the first overseas territory of the United States to recognize same-sex marriage. On August 27, 2015, the "Guam Marriage Equality Act of 2015" passed by the Guam Legislature came into effect, officially incorporating the federal court ruling into statutory law.
Transportation in Guam
The United States territory of Guam has no railways or freeways, nor does it have a merchant marine. The largest port is Apra Harbor, which serves almost all commercial traffic including cruise, cargo and fishing vessels. There are smaller harbors located on the island (most notably one in Hagatna and one in Agat) which serve recreational boaters. Roads are primarily paved by a coral/oil mixture that when it gets wet, the oil tends to float to the surface of the roads making them dangerous. This is one of the reasons the speed limit on most of the island is 35 mph. But, during road repair or maintenance, a different mixture of asphalt that is not as slippery is used. Its main commercial airport is the Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport.
Highways:
Bolanos River
The Bolanos River is a river in the United States territory of Guam.
Apra Harbor
U.S. naval Captain Henry Glass claimed Guam as part of the U.S. on June 20, 1898. Guam connected with the rest of the world in 1903 when it became the site of telegraph cable stations.
History of Guam
On June 21, 1898, the United States captured Guam in a bloodless landing during the Spanish–American War. By the Treaty of Paris, Spain officially ceded the island to the United States. Guam became part of an American telegraph line to the Philippines, also ceded by the treaty; a way station for American ships traveling to and from there; and an important part of the United States' War Plan Orange against Japan. Although Alfred Thayer Mahan, Robert Coontz, and others envisioned the island as "a kind of Gibraltar" in the Pacific, Congress repeatedly failed to fulfill the military's requests to fortify Guam; when a German warship was interned in 1914 before America's entry into World War I, its crew of 543 outnumbered their American custodians.
Guam Regional Transit Authority
The Guam Region Transit Authority is the only public transportation agency in the United States territory of Guam. Five lines circle the small island. Service is provided from 5:30AM to 7:30PM on Monday-Saturday, with no Sunday or holiday service.
Guam
Guam lies between 13.2° and 13.7°N and 144.6° and 145.0°E. It is long and wide, giving it an area of (three-fourths the size of Singapore) and making it the 32nd largest island of the United States. It is the southernmost and largest island in the Marianas as well as the largest in Micronesia. Guam's highest point is Mount Lamlam at . Challenger Deep, at the deepest surveyed point in the Oceans, lies southwest of Guam.
Guam Museum
The Guam Museum is a museum focusing on the history of Guam, a U.S. territory in Micronesia. A permanent building to house the museum's collection is expected to open in Hagåtña in 2014. The Guam Museum has been housed in temporary locations since World War II.
Voting in Guam
On August 1, 1950, President Truman signed into law the Guam Organic Act of 1950, which gave the Chamorro people certain rights and protections under the U.S. Constitution. The people of Guam were afforded the opportunity to set and administer policy and laws for the island of Guam.
In the 1980s and early 1990s, there was a significant movement in favor of the territory becoming a commonwealth, which would give it a level of self-government similar to Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands. However, the federal government rejected the version of a commonwealth that the government of Guam proposed, due to it having clauses incompatible with the Territorial Clause (Art. IV, Sec. 3, cl. 2) of the U.S. Constitution. Other movements are also in existence that advocate becoming a U.S. state, union with the state of Hawaii, union with the Northern Mariana Islands as a single territory, or independence.
Guam Highway 3
Guam Highway 3 (GH-3) is one of the primary automobile highways in the United States territory of Guam.
Boundaries between the continents of Earth
The United States of America controls numerous territories in Oceania, including the state of Hawaii and the territories of Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa.
Guam
The Mariana chain of which Guam is a part was created by collision of the Pacific and Philippine Sea tectonic plates. Guam is the closest land mass to the Mariana Trench, the deep subduction zone that runs east of the Marianas. Due to its location on the Mariana Plate just westward of where the Pacific Plate subducts the Mariana and the Philippine Sea Plates, Guam occasionally experiences earthquakes. In recent years, most with epicenters near Guam have had magnitudes ranging from 5.0 to 8.7. Unlike Anatahan in the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam is not volcanically active, though vog (volcanic smog) from Anathan affects it due to proximity.
Capture of Guam
The Capture of Guam was a bloodless event between the United States and the Kingdom of Spain during the Spanish–American War. The U.S. Navy sent a single cruiser, , to capture the island of Guam, then under Spanish control. However, the Spanish garrison on the island had no knowledge of the war and no real defenses. They surrendered without resistance and the island passed into American control. The event was the only conflict of the Spanish–American War on Guam.
Guam Police Department
The Guam Police Department () is the law enforcement agency in the United States territory of Guam. The department has jurisdiction across the entire territory, except for areas covered by the port, airport and military bases; the Guam Police Department has authority over military dependents on base, as civilians cannot be charged under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
Guam Environmental Protection Agency
The Guam Environmental Protection Agency (Guam EPA, ) is a government agency of the United States territory of Guam.
51st state
In the 1980s and early 1990s, there was a significant movement in favor of this U.S. territory becoming a commonwealth, which would give it a level of self-government similar to Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands. However, the federal government rejected the version of a commonwealth that the government of Guam proposed, because its clauses were incompatible with the Territorial Clause (Art. IV, Sec. 3, cl. 2) of the U.S. Constitution. Other movements advocate U.S. statehood for Guam, union with the state of Hawaii, or union with the Northern Mariana Islands as a single territory, or independence.
Guam
Guam is served by the Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport. The island is outside the United States customs zone, so Guam is responsible for establishing and operating its own customs and quarantine agency and jurisdiction. Therefore, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection only carries immigration (but not customs) functions. Since Guam is under federal immigration jurisdiction, passengers arriving directly from the United States skip immigration and proceed directly to Guam Customs and Quarantine.
Legislature of Guam
The Legislature of Guam () is the law-making body for the United States territory of Guam. The unicameral legislative branch consists of fifteen senators, each serving for a two-year term. All members of the legislature are elected at-large with the island under one whole district. After the enactment of the Guam Organic Act in 1950, the First Guam Legislature was elected composing of 21 elected members. Today, the current fifteen-member 35th Guam Legislature () was elected in November 2018.
Guam national football team
The Guam national football team is the national association football team for the United States territory of Guam and is controlled by the Guam Football Association. They are affiliated with the Asian Football Confederation's East Asian Football Federation region.
Geography of the United States
The territories of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands encompass a number of tropical isles in the northeastern Caribbean Sea. In the Pacific Ocean the territories of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands occupy the limestone and volcanic isles of the Mariana archipelago, and American Samoa (the only populated US territory in the southern hemisphere) encompasses volcanic peaks and coral atolls in the eastern part of the Samoan Islands chain.
American imperialism
While territories such as Guam, the United States Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa and Puerto Rico remain under U.S. control, the U.S. allowed many of its overseas territories or occupations to gain independence after World War II. Examples include the Philippines (1946), the Panama canal zone (1979), Palau (1981), the Federated States of Micronesia (1986) and the Marshall Islands (1986). Most of them still have U.S. bases within their territories. In the case of Okinawa, which came under U.S. administration after the Battle of Okinawa during the Second World War, this happened despite local popular opinion. In 2003, a Department of Defense distribution found the United States had bases in over 36 countries worldwide.
Guam Public Library System
Guam Public Library System (Chamorru: Sisteman Laibirihan Pupbleko Guåhan) is the public library system of the United States territory of Guam. The main library is the Nieves M. Flores Memorial Library at 254 Martyr Street in the village of Hagåtña.
Territories of the United States
Territories have always been a part of the United States. According to federal law, the term "United States", when used in a geographical sense, means "the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the United States Virgin Islands". Since political union with the Northern Mariana Islands in 1986, they too are treated as a part of the U.S. An executive order adopted in 2007 includes American Samoa in the U.S. "geographical extent" as reflected in U.S. Department of State documents.
Better Know a District
On April 26, 2007, Guam ("the fightin' Guam") was covered, including an interview with Madeleine Bordallo. A global map was used to produce the "Big Board", given Guam's distance from the continental United States. On August 7, 2007, American Samoa was featured ("the fightin' Samoa") and an interview with Eni Fa'aua'a Hunkin Faleomavaega, Jr. was shown.
Politics of Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico is an organized unincorporated U.S. territory which has been given internal self-governing powers which are referred to as "Commonwealth" status. (The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, located in the western Pacific Ocean, has a similar delegation of self-government powers by the United States.) Puerto Rico has more latitude over its internal affairs than the U.S. territories of Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, or American Samoa.
Mariana Islands
The Marianas remained a Spanish colony under the general government of the Philippines until 1898, when, as a result of its loss in the Spanish–American War, Spain ceded Guam to the United States. Guam has retained a different political character from the Northern Marianas since this time. Following the Philippine–American War, Apolinario Mabini and other Filipino leaders were exiled to Guam in 1901.
United States nationality law
Separate sections of law handle territories that the United States has acquired over time, such as Alaska and Hawaii , both incorporated, and unincorporated Puerto Rico , the U.S. Virgin Islands , and Guam . Each of these sections confer citizenship on persons living in these territories as of a certain date, and usually confer native-born status on persons born in incorporated territories after that date.
History of the Jews in Guam
During the late 19th century, the Spanish colony Guam was – as part of the Spanish–American War – conquered by, and ceded to, the United States. For a brief period in 1899, the year following the annexation, the Jewish naval officer Edward D. Taussig served as Governor of Guam. He was the first American officer in charge of the territory. During his short governorship, Taussig carried out a number of actions, among them the establishment of a local government consisting of native Chamorro people.
Postage stamps and postal history of Guam
The postage stamps and postal history of Guam is an overview of the postage stamps and postal history of the United States territory of Guam. Its postal service is linked to those of the Philippines during the Spanish Empire and, since 1898, to the United States of America. A peculiarity is that, for a short period in the 1930s, Guam had a local post service.
Northern Mariana Islands
After Japan's defeat in World War II, the Northern Marianas were administered by the United States pursuant to Security Council Resolution 21 as part of the United Nations Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, which gave responsibility for defense and foreign affairs to the United States. Four referenda offering integration with Guam or changes to the islands' status were held in 1958, 1961, 1963 and 1969. On each occasion, a majority voted in favor of integration with Guam, but this did not happen: Guam rejected integration in a 1969 referendum. The people of the Northern Mariana Islands decided in the 1970s not to seek independence, but instead to forge closer links with the United States. Negotiations for commonwealth status began in 1972 and a covenant to establish a commonwealth in political union with the United States was approved in a 1975 referendum. A new government and constitution came into effect in 1978 after being approved in a 1977 referendum. The United Nations approved this arrangement pursuant to Security Council Resolution 683. The commonwealth does not have voting representation in the United States Congress, but, since 2009, has been represented in the U.S. House of Representatives by a delegate who may participate in debate but may not vote on the floor. The commonwealth has no representation in the U.S. Senate.
State constitution (United States)
The territories of the United States are "organized" and, thus, self-governing if the United States Congress has passed an Organic Act. Only two of the 14 territories – Guam and the United States Virgin Islands – are organized. One unorganized territory, American Samoa, has its own constitution. The remaining 13 unorganized territories have no permanent populations and are either under direct control of the U.S. Government or operate as military bases.
Communications in Guam
Though Guam is a United States territory, some U.S. long distance plans and courier services list Guam as an international location. As a result of Guam's being added to the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) in 1997, calls made to the U.S., Canada, or other participating countries from Guam (or to Guam from other NANP locations) only require the caller to dial a 1 followed by the area code.
Guam Department of Land Management
The Guam Department of Land Management (DLM, ) is a department of the government on the United States territory of Guam. The department has its headquarters in the Guam International Trade Center (ITC) Building in Tamuning.website: http://www.dlm.guam.gov/
January 1982 Guamanian status referendum
A referendum on the territory's status was held in Guam on 30 January 1982. Although the option of becoming a US commonwealth received the most votes, it did not achieve a majority. As a result, a second referendum was held in September with only two options.
Postage stamps and postal history of Guam
Following the victory of the United States in the war of 1898, in December 1898 Spain agreed by the treaty of Paris to sell the island of Guam, while the others Mariana islands became part of the German Empire. US troops had been present since an invasion the previous June.
Venancio Roberto
Venancio Roberto was a resident of Hagåtña, Guam who briefly seized the office of Commissioner of Guam from December 31, 1898 to January 2, 1899 before his rule was declared illegitimate by Lieutenant Commander Vincendon Cottman of the USS "Brutus". In 1898, Roberto overthrew José Sisto, and was put in office by a military junta composed of a number of district leaders from around the island; only two days later, the United States Navy decided that Sisto held the legitimate claim to the office, despite Roberto's generally more pro-United States leanings. The coalition, which included local leader Father José Palomo y Torres and former governor Francisco Portusach Martínez, stepped aside until the ownership of Guam could be determined.
Ugum River
The Ugum River is a river in the United States territory of Guam.
United States territorial acquisitions
In Guam, settlement by foreign ethnic groups was small at first. After World War II showed the strategic value of the island, construction of a huge military base began along with a large influx of people from other parts of the world. Guam today has a very mixed population of 164,000. The indigenous Chamorros make up 37% of the population. The rest of the population consists mostly of white Americans and Filipinos, with smaller groups of Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, Micronesians, Vietnamese and Indians. Guam today is almost totally Americanized. The situation is somewhat similar to that in Hawaii, but attempts to change Guam's status as an 'unincorporated' U.S. territory have yet to meet with success.
51st state
Guam has been occupied for over 450 years by the Spanish, the Japanese, and the United States. In 2016, Governor Eddie Calvo planned a decolonization referendum that the indigenous Chamorro people of Guam would solely participate in, in which the three options would be given, including statehood, independence, and free association. However, this referendum for the Chamorro people was struck down by a federal judge on the grounds of racial discrimination. In the wake of this ruling, Governor Calvo has suggested that two ballots be held: one for the Chamorro People and one for eligible U.S. citizens who are non-indigenous residents of Guam. The Governor hopes for a decolonization plebiscite to occur in 2018. It is also possible that in 2018, Guam and its neighbor, the Northern Mariana Islands (a U.S. Commonwealth) may vote on a reunification referendum.
September 1982 Guamanian status referendum
A referendum on the territory's status was held in Guam on 4 September 1982. It was held after a referendum in January had resulted in none of the options presented to voters receiving a majority in favour. This time only two options, becoming a US commonwealth or a US state, were offered to voters, with 73% voting in favour of the former. However, the territory has still not achieved commonwealth status.
History of Guam
The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, section 307, granted U.S. citizenship to "all persons born in the island of Guam on or after April 11, 1899. In the 1960s, the island's required security clearance for visitors was lifted.
Guam Highway 8
Guam Highway 8 (GH-8) is one of the primary automobile highways in the United States territory of Guam.
Unincorporated territories of the United States
Of the 13 territories, five are inhabited. These are either organized or self-governing, but unincorporated. These are Puerto Rico, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands, and American Samoa. There are also nine uninhabited U.S. possessions, of which only Palmyra Atoll is incorporated. (See Territories of the United States, Unorganized territory and insular area.)
List of U.S. states and territories by income
The District of Columbia and the inhabited U.S. territories (Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa) are not formally US states, but their residents are American citizens (except for American Samoa — people born in American Samoa are non-citizen U.S. nationals). Puerto Rico has a higher population than 21 US states, while D.C. has a higher population than 2 states.
Outline of Guam
Geography of Guam
Guam
In addition to on-shore military installations, Guam, along with the rest of the Mariana Islands, is being prepared to be the westernmost military training range for the U.S. Guam is currently viewed as a key military hub that will further allow U.S. military power to be projected via sea and sky.
Guam Organic Act of 1950
The first bill providing for an Organic Act and U.S. citizenship was introduced on July 15, 1946 by U.S. Representative Robert A. Grant of Indiana in the form of H.R. 7044. This provided that Guam be accorded the semi-autonomous status of an Organized territory, with the privilege of sending a delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill, however, was never even reported out of committee, as was the fate of all the bills introduced during the 79th United States Congress.
Guam Insular Force Guard
After gaining control of Guam during the 1898 Spanish–American War, the United States declared the entire island of Guam a naval installation that led to the US Navy governing the island.
American Samoa
Unlike other U.S. territories (Guam, CNMI, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands), American Samoa is not considered a U.S. State for the purposes of the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act. This means that alien lawful permanent residents of the United States may be considered to have abandoned permanent residence if they have moved to live in American Samoa.
Supreme Court of Guam
The Supreme Court of Guam is the highest judicial body of the United States territory of Guam. The Court hears all appeals from the Superior Court of Guam and is subject to original jurisdiction only in cases where a certified question is submitted to it by a U.S. Federal Court, the Governor of Guam, or the Guam Legislature. The Supreme Court of Guam is the ultimate judicial authority on local matters. Appeals of questions involving the U.S. Constitution or federal laws or treaties are hear by a three-judge appellate panel of the U.S. District Court of Guam. The Court sits in the Monessa G. Lujan Memorial Courtroom, which is on the third floor of the Guam Judicial Center in Hagatna, Guam
Guam
The United States Department of the Interior had approved a $300,000 grant for decolonization education, Edward Alvarez told the United Nations Pacific Regional Seminar in May 2016. "We are hopeful that this might indicate a shift in [United States] policy to its Non-Self-Governing Territories such as Guam, where they will be more willing to engage in discussions about our future and offer true support to help push us towards true self-governances and self-determination."
Outline of Guam
The United States Territory of Guam is a member of:
United States nationality law
All persons born in the island of Guam on or after April 11, 1899 (whether before or after August 1, 1950) subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, are declared to be citizens of the United States.
Ajayan River
The Ajayan River is a river in the United States territory of Guam.
Postage stamps and postal history of Guam
Since its annexation, Guam was the subject of one postage stamp produced by the United States Postal Service. On June 1, 2007 a 90-cent stamp, part of the airmail series "Scenic American Landscapes" depicting a sunset on a beach and the Hagåtña Bay was released.
Guam Highway 4
Guam Highway 4 (GH-4) is one of the primary automobile highways in the United States territory of Guam.
Guam
The indigenous Chamorros settled the island approximately 4,000 years ago. Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, while in the service of Spain, was the first European to visit the island, on March 6, 1521. Guam was colonized by Spain in 1668 with settlers, including Diego Luis de San Vitores, a Catholic Jesuit missionary. Between the 16th century and the 18th century, Guam was an important stopover for the Spanish Manila Galleons. During the Spanish–American War, the United States captured Guam on June 21, 1898. Under the Treaty of Paris, Spain ceded Guam to the United States on December 10, 1898. Guam is among the seventeen non-self-governing territories listed by the United Nations.
Battle of Guam (1944)
Guam, at 212 square miles (543 square kilometers), is the largest island of the Marianas, with a length of 32 miles (52 km) and a width ranging from 12 miles (19.31 km) to four miles (6.44 km) at different points of the island. It had been a United States possession since its capture from Spain in 1898 until it was captured by the Japanese on 10 December 1941, following the attack on Pearl Harbor. During the Japanese occupation of Guam, it was not as heavily fortified as the other Mariana Islands such as Saipan that had been Japanese possessions since the end of World War I. But by 1944, Guam had a large Japanese garrison.