Territories of the United States

The United States is not just the 50 states. In addition to Washington, D.C. (a federal district where the push for statehood is ongoing), there are 14 territories administered by the United States as insular areas—lands subject to U.S. jurisdiction, but expressly not part of any state.

The first of these territories to be claimed were uninhabited islands, such as Howland Island in the southwestern Pacific and Navassa Island in the Caribbean, under the auspices of the Guano Islands Act of 1856. This legislation authorized any U.S. citizen to take “peaceable possession” of “any island, rock, or key, not within the lawful jurisdiction of any other government,” with the only condition being that the island had to possess a “deposit of guano.” The mid-19th century had seen a massive increase in the use of nitrogen-rich guano in fertilizer and gunpowder, and the demand for this commodity would fuel a wave of American expansion throughout the Pacific. Although dozens of islands were claimed through this process, the overwhelming bulk of these claims were relinquished in the late 20th century as the island countries of Oceania began to achieve independence.

Other notable Pacific acquisitions during this time include the Midway Islands (annexed 1867), Wake Island (annexed 1899), and Hawaii (annexed 1898; territory 1900; statehood 1959).

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The second major wave of overseas territorial acquisition came after the Spanish-American War. In the Treaty of Paris (December 10, 1898), the U.S. acquired the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Guam from Spain. Under the terms of the Tripartite Convention of 1899, the United States claimed eastern Samoa (now American Samoa), while Germany made a colony of the western part of the islands (now the independent country of Samoa). The United States formally annexed eastern Samoa the following year. This was carried out without consulting the Samoan people, and many of them continue to resent the division.

In 1917 the United States purchased three large Caribbean islands—St. Croix, St. John, and St. Thomas—and about 50 small islets and cays from Denmark for $25 million. The territory, now known as the United States Virgin Islands, was initially administered by the U.S. Navy until 1931, when it was transferred to civilian control.

After World War II the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands was established by the United Nations and administered by the United States. Residents of the Trust Territory held a series of plebiscites and referenda over subsequent decades to determine their relationships with the United States. In 1986 the United States unilaterally declared that the trust was dissolved. The Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands became sovereign countries, obtaining membership in the United Nations in September 1991. The Northern Mariana Islands opted to become a self-governing commonwealth in association with the United States. Palau, the trust’s last remaining territory, opted for independence in 1994.

Permanently inhabited territories of the United States