1.
United States Minor Outlying Islands
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Among them, Palmyra Atoll is the only incorporated territory. As of 2017, none of the islands have any permanent residents, the only human population consists of temporarily stationed scientific and military personnel. The 2000 census counted 315 people on Johnston Atoll and 94 people on Wake Island, there has been no modern indigenous population, except at the 1940 census. In 1936 a colonization program began to settle Americans on Baker, Howland, and Jarvis, the islands are grouped together as a statistical convenience. They are not administered collectively, nor do they share a cultural or political history beyond being uninhabited islands under the sovereignty of the United States. They are collectively represented by the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code UM, the individual islands have ISO 3166-2 numerical codes, see ISO 3166-2, UM. The Internet country code top-level domain. um has historically been assigned to the islands, however, ISO introduced the term United States Minor Outlying Islands in 1986. From 1974 until 1986, five of the islands were grouped under the term United States Miscellaneous Pacific Islands, the code of Midway Atoll was MI, the code of Johnston Atoll was JT, and the code of Wake Island was WK. The Pacific islands are surrounded by large Exclusive Economic Zones, see also Organized incorporated territories, Unincorporated territories and List of territorial disputes in North America. The following is a list of airports with ICAO codes, PJON, Johnston Atoll Airport, Johnston Atoll PMDY, Henderson Field, Sand Island. Kingman Reef and Navassa Island have offshore anchorage only. S, Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges CIA World Factbook, United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges
2.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
3.
Territories of the United States
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Territories of the United States are sub-national administrative divisions directly overseen by the United States federal government. These territories are classified by whether they are incorporated and whether they have a government through an Organic Act passed by the U. S. Congress. Currently, the United States has sixteen territories, five of which are inhabited, Puerto Rico, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, the U. S. Virgin Islands. They are classified as unincorporated territories and they are organized, self-governing territories with locally elected governors and territorial legislatures. Each also elects a member to the U. S. House of Representatives. Eleven territories are small islands, atolls and reefs, spread across the Caribbean and Pacific, the status of some are disputed by Colombia, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, and the Marshall Islands. The Palmyra Atoll is the territory currently incorporated. Historically, territories were created to govern newly acquired land while the borders of the United States were still evolving, other territories administered by the United States went on to become independent countries, such as the Philippines, Micronesia, Marshall Islands and Palau. Many organized incorporated territories of the United States existed from 1789 to 1959, currently, the United States has sixteen territories, five of which are permanently inhabited, Puerto Rico, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, United States Virgin Islands and American Samoa. The 11 uninhabited territories administered by the Interior Department are Palmyra Atoll, Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, while claimed by the US, Navassa Island, Wake Island, Serranilla Bank and Bajo Nuevo Bank are disputed. Territories have always been a part of the United States, by Act of Congress, the term United States, when used in a geographical sense, means the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands of the United States. Since political union with the Northern Mariana Islands in 1986, they too are treated as a part of the U. S, an Executive Order in 2007 includes American Samoa as U. S. geographical extent duly reflected in U. S. State Department documents. Approximately 4 million islanders are U. S. citizens, about 32,000 U. S. non-citizen nationals live in American Samoa, under current law among the territories, only persons born in American Samoa and Swains Island are non-citizen U. S. nationals. American Samoans are under the protection of the U. S. with freedom of U. S. travel without visas. The five inhabited U. S. territories have local voting rights and protections under U. S. courts, pay some U. S. taxes, depending on the congress, they may also vote on the floor in the House Committee of the Whole. S. Every four years, the Democratic and Republican political parties nominate their candidates at conventions which include delegates from the five major territories. The citizens there, however, do not vote in the election for U. S. President. S. Incorporated territories are considered a part of the United States
4.
U.S. state
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A U. S. state is a constituent political entity of the United States of America. There are 50 states, which are together in a union with each other. Each state holds administrative jurisdiction over a geographic territory. Due to the shared sovereignty between each state and the government, Americans are citizens of both the federal republic and of the state in which they reside. State citizenship and residency are flexible, and no government approval is required to move between states, except for persons covered by certain types of court orders. States range in population from just under 600,000 to over 39 million, four states use the term commonwealth rather than state in their full official names. States are divided into counties or county-equivalents, which may be assigned some local authority but are not sovereign. County or county-equivalent structure varies widely by state, State governments are allocated power by the people through their individual constitutions. All are grounded in principles, and each provides for a government. States possess a number of powers and rights under the United States Constitution, Constitution has been amended, and the interpretation and application of its provisions have changed. The general tendency has been toward centralization and incorporation, with the government playing a much larger role than it once did. There is a debate over states rights, which concerns the extent and nature of the states powers and sovereignty in relation to the federal government. States and their residents are represented in the federal Congress, a legislature consisting of the Senate. Each state is represented in the Senate by two senators, and is guaranteed at least one Representative in the House, members of the House are elected from single-member districts. Representatives are distributed among the states in proportion to the most recent constitutionally mandated decennial census, the Constitution grants to Congress the authority to admit new states into the Union. Since the establishment of the United States in 1776, the number of states has expanded from the original 13 to 50, alaska and Hawaii are the most recent states admitted, both in 1959. The Constitution is silent on the question of states have the power to secede from the Union. Shortly after the Civil War, the U. S. Supreme Court, in Texas v. White, as a result, while the governments of the various states share many similar features, they often vary greatly with regard to form and substance
5.
United States Constitution
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The United States Constitution is the supreme law of the United States of America. The Constitution, originally comprising seven articles, delineates the national frame of government, Articles Four, Five and Six entrench concepts of federalism, describing the rights and responsibilities of state governments and of the states in relationship to the federal government. Article Seven establishes the procedure used by the thirteen States to ratify it. In general, the first ten amendments, known collectively as the Bill of Rights, offer specific protections of individual liberty, the majority of the seventeen later amendments expand individual civil rights protections. Others address issues related to federal authority or modify government processes and procedures, Amendments to the United States Constitution, unlike ones made to many constitutions worldwide, are appended to the document. All four pages of the original U. S, according to the United States Senate, The Constitutions first three words—We the People—affirm that the government of the United States exists to serve its citizens. From September 5,1774 to March 1,1781, the Continental Congress functioned as the government of the United States. The process of selecting the delegates for the First and Second Continental Congresses underscores the revolutionary role of the people of the colonies in establishing a governing body. The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union was the first constitution of the United States and it was drafted by the Second Continental Congress from mid-1776 through late-1777, and ratification by all 13 states was completed by early 1781. Under the Articles of Confederation, the governments power was quite limited. The Confederation Congress could make decisions, but lacked enforcement powers, implementation of most decisions, including modifications to the Articles, required unanimous approval of all thirteen state legislatures. The Continental Congress could print money but the currency was worthless, Congress could borrow money, but couldnt pay it back. No state paid all their U. S. taxes, some paid nothing, some few paid an amount equal to interest on the national debt owed to their citizens, but no more. No interest was paid on debt owed foreign governments, by 1786, the United States would default on outstanding debts as their dates came due. Internationally, the Articles of Confederation did little to enhance the United States ability to defend its sovereignty, most of the troops in the 625-man United States Army were deployed facing – but not threatening – British forts on American soil. They had not been paid, some were deserting and others threatening mutiny, spain closed New Orleans to American commerce, U. S. officials protested, but to no effect. Barbary pirates began seizing American ships of commerce, the Treasury had no funds to pay their ransom, if any military crisis required action, the Congress had no credit or taxing power to finance a response. Domestically, the Articles of Confederation was failing to bring unity to the sentiments and interests of the various states
6.
United States Congress
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The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States consisting of two chambers, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the Capitol in Washington, D. C, both senators and representatives are chosen through direct election, though vacancies in the Senate may be filled by a gubernatorial appointment. Members are usually affiliated to the Republican Party or to the Democratic Party, Congress has 535 voting members,435 Representatives and 100 Senators. The House of Representatives has six non-voting members in addition to its 435 voting members and these members can, however, sit on congressional committees and introduce legislation. Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the members of the House of Representatives serve two-year terms representing the people of a single constituency, known as a district. Congressional districts are apportioned to states by using the United States Census results. Each state, regardless of population or size, has two senators, currently, there are 100 senators representing the 50 states. Each senator is elected at-large in their state for a term, with terms staggered. The House and Senate are equal partners in the legislative process—legislation cannot be enacted without the consent of both chambers, however, the Constitution grants each chamber some unique powers. The Senate ratifies treaties and approves presidential appointments while the House initiates revenue-raising bills, the House initiates impeachment cases, while the Senate decides impeachment cases. A two-thirds vote of the Senate is required before a person can be forcibly removed from office. The term Congress can also refer to a meeting of the legislature. A Congress covers two years, the current one, the 115th Congress, began on January 3,2017, the Congress starts and ends on the third day of January of every odd-numbered year. Members of the Senate are referred to as senators, members of the House of Representatives are referred to as representatives, congressmen, or congresswomen. One analyst argues that it is not a solely reactive institution but has played a role in shaping government policy and is extraordinarily sensitive to public pressure. Several academics described Congress, Congress reflects us in all our strengths, Congress is the governments most representative body. Congress is essentially charged with reconciling our many points of view on the public policy issues of the day. —Smith, Roberts, and Wielen Congress is constantly changing and is constantly in flux, most incumbents seek re-election, and their historical likelihood of winning subsequent elections exceeds 90 percent
7.
Caribbean Sea
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The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. The entire area of the Caribbean Sea, the islands of the West Indies. The Caribbean Sea is one of the largest seas and has an area of about 2,754,000 km2, the seas deepest point is the Cayman Trough, between the Cayman Islands and Jamaica, at 7,686 m below sea level. The Caribbean coastline has many gulfs and bays, the Gulf of Gonâve, Gulf of Venezuela, Gulf of Darién, Golfo de los Mosquitos, Gulf of Paria, the Caribbean Sea has the worlds second biggest barrier reef, the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef. It runs 1,000 km along the coasts of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, the name Caribbean derives from the Caribs, one of the regions dominant Native American groups at the time of European contact during the late 15th century. During the first century of development, Spanish dominance in the region remained undisputed, from the 16th century, Europeans visiting the Caribbean region identified the South Sea as opposed to the North Sea. The Caribbean Sea had been unknown to the populations of Eurasia until 1492, at that time the Western Hemisphere in general was unknown to Europeans. Following the discovery of the islands by Columbus, the area was colonised by several Western cultures. As of 2015 the area is home to 22 island territories, the International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Caribbean Sea as follows, On the North. In the Windward Channel – a line joining Caleta Point and Pearl Point in Haïti, in the Mona Passage – a line joining Cape Engano and the extreme of Agujereada in Puerto Rico. From Galera Point through Trinidad to Galeota Point and thence to Baja Point in Venezuela, note that, although Barbados is an island on the same continental shelf, it is considered to be in the Atlantic Ocean rather than the Caribbean Sea. The Caribbean Sea is an oceanic sea largely situated on the Caribbean Plate, the Caribbean Sea is separated from the ocean by several island arcs of various ages. The youngest stretches from the Lesser Antilles to the Virgin Islands to the north east of Trinidad, the larger islands in the northern part of the sea Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica and Puerto Rico lie on an older island arc. The geological age of the Caribbean Sea is estimated to be between 160 and 180 million years and was formed by a fracture that split the supercontinent called Pangea in the Mesozoic Era. It is assumed the proto-caribbean basin existed in the Devonian period, in the early Carboniferous movement of Gondwana to the north and its convergence with the Euramerica basin decreased in size. The next stage of the Caribbean Seas formation began in the Triassic, powerful rifting led to the formation of narrow troughs, stretching from modern Newfoundland to the west coast of the Gulf of Mexico which formed siliciclastic sedimentary rocks. In the early Jurassic due to powerful marine transgression, water broke into the present area of the Gulf of Mexico creating a vast shallow pool, the emergence of deep basins in the Caribbean occurred during the Middle Jurassic rifting. The emergence of these marked the beginning of the Atlantic Ocean
8.
Pacific Ocean
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The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of the Earths oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south and is bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, the Mariana Trench in the western North Pacific is the deepest point in the world, reaching a depth of 10,911 metres. Both the center of the Water Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere are in the Pacific Ocean, the oceans current name was coined by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan during the Spanish circumnavigation of the world in 1521, as he encountered favourable winds on reaching the ocean. He called it Mar Pacífico, which in both Portuguese and Spanish means peaceful sea, important human migrations occurred in the Pacific in prehistoric times. Long-distance trade developed all along the coast from Mozambique to Japan, trade, and therefore knowledge, extended to the Indonesian islands but apparently not Australia. By at least 878 when there was a significant Islamic settlement in Canton much of trade was controlled by Arabs or Muslims. In 219 BC Xu Fu sailed out into the Pacific searching for the elixir of immortality, from 1404 to 1433 Zheng He led expeditions into the Indian Ocean. The east side of the ocean was discovered by Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa in 1513 after his expedition crossed the Isthmus of Panama and he named it Mar del Sur because the ocean was to the south of the coast of the isthmus where he first observed the Pacific. Later, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan sailed the Pacific East to West on a Castilian expedition of world circumnavigation starting in 1519, Magellan called the ocean Pacífico because, after sailing through the stormy seas off Cape Horn, the expedition found calm waters. The ocean was often called the Sea of Magellan in his honor until the eighteenth century, sailing around and east of the Moluccas, between 1525 and 1527, Portuguese expeditions discovered the Caroline Islands, the Aru Islands, and Papua New Guinea. In 1542–43 the Portuguese also reached Japan, in 1564, five Spanish ships consisting of 379 explorers crossed the ocean from Mexico led by Miguel López de Legazpi and sailed to the Philippines and Mariana Islands. The Manila galleons operated for two and a half centuries linking Manila and Acapulco, in one of the longest trade routes in history, Spanish expeditions also discovered Tuvalu, the Marquesas, the Cook Islands, the Solomon Islands, and the Admiralty Islands in the South Pacific. In the 16th and 17th century Spain considered the Pacific Ocean a Mare clausum—a sea closed to other naval powers, as the only known entrance from the Atlantic the Strait of Magellan was at times patrolled by fleets sent to prevent entrance of non-Spanish ships. On the western end of the Pacific Ocean the Dutch threatened the Spanish Philippines, Spain also sent expeditions to the Pacific Northwest reaching Vancouver Island in southern Canada, and Alaska. The French explored and settled Polynesia, and the British made three voyages with James Cook to the South Pacific and Australia, Hawaii, and the North American Pacific Northwest, one of the earliest voyages of scientific exploration was organized by Spain in the Malaspina Expedition of 1789–1794. It sailed vast areas of the Pacific, from Cape Horn to Alaska, Guam and the Philippines, New Zealand, Australia, and the South Pacific. Growing imperialism during the 19th century resulted in the occupation of much of Oceania by other European powers, and later, Japan, in Oceania, France got a leading position as imperial power after making Tahiti and New Caledonia protectorates in 1842 and 1853 respectively. After navy visits to Easter Island in 1875 and 1887, Chilean navy officer Policarpo Toro managed to negotiate an incorporation of the island into Chile with native Rapanui in 1888, by occupying Easter Island, Chile joined the imperial nations
9.
Organic Act
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An Organic Act, in United States law, is an Act of the United States Congress that establishes a territory of the United States or an agency to manage certain federal lands. In the absence of a law an territory is classified as unorganized. The first such act was the Northwest Ordinance, passed in 1787 by the U. S. Congress of the Confederation. The Northwest Territory covered more than 260,000 square miles and included all of the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin. The District of Columbia Organic Act of 1801 incorporated Washington, D. C. the Organic Act for the Territory of New Mexico was part of the Compromise of 1850, passed September 9,1850. Primarily concerned with slavery, the act organized New Mexico as a territory, with including the areas now embraced in New Mexico, Arizona. Territorial organic acts have included, in chronological order), Areas now part of a U. S. state or D. C and it has since been superseded by the Constitution of Puerto Rico. The Organic Act of the Virgin Islands of the United States of 1936 established a government for the U. S. Virgin Islands, the Guam Organic Act of 1950, transferred Guam to the United States Department of the Interior as an unincorporated territory. The Revised Organic Act of the Virgin Islands of 1954 repealed and replaced the previous Organic Act of the Virgin Islands, the Philippines, The Philippine Organic Act, creation of an elected Philippine Assembly. The Jones Law, replaced the 1902 act in 1916 and created a fully elected Philippine Legislature
10.
Unorganized territory
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In the United States, an unorganized territory is a region of land without a normally constituted system of government. This does not mean that the territory has no government at all or that it is unclaimed territory, in practice, such territories are always sparsely populated. In modern usage it indicates an area in local government does not exist. However the area is still, at least in theory, governed by the nation of which it forms part and these lightly governed regions were common in the 19th century during the growth of United States. Large tracts such as the Louisiana Territory, Missouri Territory and the Oregon Country were established by Congress, later, a portion of a territory would organize and achieve the requirements for statehood, leaving the remainder unorganized. The U. S. Census Bureau recognizes such separate pieces of territory as one or more separate county subdivisions for statistical purposes and it assigns each unorganized territory a descriptive name, followed by the designation unorganized territory. Unorganized territories were first used for purposes in conjunction with the 1960 census. At the 2000 census there were 305 of these territories within the United States and their total land area was 85,392 square miles and they had a total population of 247,331. South Dakota had the most unorganized territories,102, as well as the largest amount of land under that status,39,785 square miles, North Dakota followed with 86 territories,20,358 square miles, or 29. 5% of its land area. Maine was next with 36 territories,14,052 square miles, Minnesota had 71 territories,10,552 square miles, or 13% of its land area. Several other states had small amounts of unorganized territory, the unorganized territory with the largest population was Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, a United States Marine Corps base with a census population of 34,452 inhabitants. In the 2010 census, unorganized territory areas were identified in nine U. S. states, Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, and South Dakota. An unorganized territory can also be a United States territory for which the United States Congress has not enacted an organic act, currently, all federal unorganized territories are insular areas, administered by the Office of Insular Affairs, U. S. Department of the Interior. American Samoa is technically unorganized, in that Congress has not passed an organic act, as of 2006, Palmyra Atoll is the only unorganized incorporated U. S. territory. The other unorganized and all organized territories are unincorporated, incorporated territories are permanently part of the United States whereas unincorporated territories may be sold, leased or granted independence by the United States. At various times during the 19th century, large parts of the Great Plains were unorganized territory, after the Louisiana Purchase from France in 1803, the entire region was part of the Louisiana Territory until 1812 and the Missouri Territory until 1821. In 1821 the Missouri Compromise created the State of Missouri from the territory, 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 unorganized territory in the Great Plains
11.
American Samoa
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American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of Samoa. American Samoa consists of five islands and two coral atolls. The largest and most populous island is Tutuila, with the Manuʻa Islands, Rose Atoll, All islands except for Swains Island are part of the Samoan Islands, located west of the Cook Islands, north of Tonga, and some 300 miles south of Tokelau. To the west are the islands of the Wallis and Futuna group, the 2010 census showed a total population of 55,519 people. The total land area is 199 square kilometers, slightly more than Washington, American Samoa is the southernmost territory of the U. S. and one of two U. S. territories south of the Equator, along with the uninhabited Jarvis Island. Tuna products are the exports, and the main trading partner is the United States. American Samoa is noted for having the highest rate of enlistment of any U. S. state or territory. Most American Samoans are bilingual and can speak English and Samoan fluently, Samoan is the same language spoken in neighboring independent Samoa. Contact with Europeans began in the early 18th century, dutchman Jacob Roggeveen was the first known European to sight the Samoan Islands in 1722. This visit was followed by French explorer Louis-Antoine de Bougainville who named them the Navigator Islands in 1768, contact was limited before the 1830s, when English missionaries and traders began arriving. The site of battle is called Massacre Bay. Mission work in the Samoas had begun in late 1830 when John Williams of the London Missionary Society arrived from the Cook Islands, by that time, the Samoans had gained a reputation for being savage and warlike, as violent altercations had occurred between natives and European visitors. In March 1889, an Imperial German naval force entered a village on Samoa, three American warships then entered the Apia harbor and prepared to engage the three German warships found there. Before any shots were fired, a typhoon wrecked both the American and German ships, a compulsory armistice was then called because of the lack of any warships. Forerunners to the Tripartite Convention of 1899 were the Washington Conference of 1887, the Treaty of Berlin of 1889, the following year, the USA formally occupied its portion, a smaller group of eastern islands, one of which contains the noted harbor of Pago Pago. The Navy secured a Deed of Cession of Tutuila in 1900, the territory became known as the US Naval Station Tutuila. On July 17,1911, the US Naval Station Tutuila, in 1918 during the final stages of World War I, the flu pandemic had taken its toll, spreading rapidly from country to country. The result of Poyers quick actions earned him the Navy Cross from the US Navy, with this distinction, American Samoans regarded Poyer as their hero for what he had done to prevent the deadly disease
12.
United States nationality law
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Article I, section 8, clause 4 of the United States Constitution expressly gives the United States Congress the power to establish a uniform rule of naturalization. The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 sets forth the requirements for the acquisition of. Felons can vote in over 40 states, and in at least 2 while incarcerated, felons can also serve jury duty if approved. Some U. S. citizens have the obligation to serve in a jury, if selected, citizens are also required to pay taxes on their total income from all sources worldwide, including income earned abroad while living abroad. U. S. taxes payable may be reduced by credits for foreign income taxes regardless of the length of stay abroad. The United States Government also insists that U. S. citizens travel into and out of the United States on a U. S. passport, regardless of any other nationality they may possess. Male U. S. citizens from 18–25 years of age are required to register with the Selective Service System at age 18 for possible conscription into the armed forces. Although no one has been drafted in the U. S. since 1973, armed Forces, and will perform work of national importance under civilian direction. In some cases, the USCIS allows the oath to be taken without the clauses regarding the first two of these three sworn commitments, there are various ways a person can acquire United States citizenship, either at birth or later on in life. In the case of United States v. Wong Kim Ark,169 U. S, as of 2015, the United States includes all inhabited territories except American Samoa and Swains Island. INA301 and INA301 state, and one of whom has had a residence, the FAM states no amount of time specified. A persons record of birth abroad, if registered with a U. S. consulate or embassy, is proof of citizenship and they may also apply for a passport or a Certificate of Citizenship as proof of citizenship. A person born on or after November 14,1986, is a U. S. citizen if all of the following are true, a persons record of birth abroad, if registered with a U. S. consulate or embassy, is proof of citizenship. Such a person may apply for a passport or a Certificate of Citizenship to have a record of citizenship. Such documentation is often useful to prove citizenship in lieu of the availability of an American birth certificate, different rules apply for persons born abroad to one U. S. citizen before November 14,1986. United States law on this subject changed multiple times throughout the century. A person who was not born a U. S. citizen may acquire U. S. citizenship through a known as naturalization. Also during those 60 months if the permanent resident was outside of the U. S. for a continuous period of 6 months or more they are disqualified from naturalizing
13.
Income tax
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An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities that varies with the income or profits of the taxpayer. Many jurisdictions refer to income tax on business entities as companies tax or corporate tax, partnerships generally are not taxed, rather, the partners are taxed on their share of partnership items. Tax may be imposed by both a country and subdivisions, most jurisdictions exempt locally organized charitable organizations from tax. Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times taxable income, the tax rate may increase as taxable income increases. Taxation rates may vary by type or characteristics of the taxpayer, capital gains may be taxed at different rates than other income. Credits of various sorts may be allowed that reduce tax, some jurisdictions impose the higher of an income tax or a tax on an alternative base or measure of income. Taxable income of resident in the jurisdiction is generally total income less income producing expenses. Generally, only net gain from sale of property, including goods held for sale, is included in income, Income of a corporations shareholders usually includes distributions of profits from the corporation. Deductions typically include all income producing or business expenses including an allowance for recovery of costs of business assets, many jurisdictions allow notional deductions for individuals, and may allow deduction of some personal expenses. Most jurisdictions either do not tax income earned outside the jurisdiction or allow a credit for taxes paid to other jurisdictions on such income, nonresidents are taxed only on certain types of income from sources within the jurisdictions, with few exceptions. Most jurisdictions require self-assessment of the tax and require payers of some types of income to withhold tax from those payments, advance payments of tax by taxpayers may be required. Taxpayers not timely paying tax owed are generally subject to significant penalties, for most of the history of civilization, these preconditions did not exist, and taxes were based on other factors. Taxes on wealth, social position, and ownership of the means of production were all common, the first income tax is generally attributed to Egypt. In the early days of the Roman Republic, public taxes consisted of modest assessments on owned wealth, the tax rate under normal circumstances was 1% and sometimes would climb as high as 3% in situations such as war. These modest taxes were levied against land, homes and other estate, slaves, animals, personal items. The more a person had in property, the tax they paid. In the year 10 AD, Emperor Wang Mang of the Xin Dynasty instituted an unprecedented income tax, at the rate of 10 percent of profits, for professionals and skilled labor. He was overthrown 13 years later in 23 AD and earlier policies were restored during the reestablished Han Dynasty which followed, one of the first recorded taxes on income was the Saladin tithe introduced by Henry II in 1188 to raise money for the Third Crusade
14.
Income tax in the United States
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In the United States, a tax is imposed on income by the federal government, most state governments, and many local governments. The income tax is determined by applying a tax rate, which may increase as income increases, Individuals and corporations are directly taxable, and estates and trusts may be taxable on undistributed income. In the United States, the payroll tax usually refers to FICA taxes that pay into Social Security and Medicare, while income tax refers to taxes that pay into state. Partnerships are not taxed, but their partners are taxed on their shares of partnership income, residents and citizens are taxed on worldwide income, while nonresidents are taxed only on income within the jurisdiction. Several types of credits reduce tax, and some types of credits may exceed tax before credits, an alternative tax applies at the federal and some state levels. Taxable income is total income less allowable deductions, Individuals may also deduct a personal allowance and certain personal expenses, including home mortgage interest, state taxes, contributions to charity, and some other items. Some deductions are subject to limits, Capital gains are taxable, and capital losses reduce taxable income to the extent of gains. Individuals currently pay a rate of tax on capital gains. Taxpayers generally must self assess income tax by filing tax returns, advance payments of tax are required in the form of withholding tax or estimated tax payments. Taxes are determined separately by each jurisdiction imposing tax, due dates and other administrative procedures vary by jurisdiction. April 15 following the tax year is the last day for individuals to file tax returns for federal and many state, Tax as determined by the taxpayer may be adjusted by the taxing jurisdiction. A tax is imposed on net income in the United States by the federal, most state. Income tax is imposed on individuals, corporations, estates, the definition of net taxable income for most sub-federal jurisdictions mostly follows the federal definition. The rate of tax at the level is graduated, that is. Some states and localities impose a tax at a graduated rate. Federal tax rates in 2013 varied from 10% to 39. 6%, Individuals are eligible for a reduced rate of federal income tax on capital gains and qualifying dividends. The tax rate and some deductions are different for individuals depending on filing status, married individuals may compute tax as a couple or separately. Single individuals may be eligible for reduced tax rates if they are head of a household in which live with a dependent
15.
Payroll tax
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Payroll taxes are taxes imposed on employers or employees, and are usually calculated as a percentage of the salaries that employers pay their staff. Payroll taxes generally fall into two categories, deductions from an employee’s wages, and taxes paid by the based on the employees wages. The second kind is a tax that is paid from the employers own funds and these can consist of fixed charges or be proportionally linked to an employees pay. The charges paid by the employer usually cover the employers funding of the security system. The Australian federal government requires withholding tax on employment income, under a known as pay-as-you-go. The individual states impose payroll taxes of the second type, in Bermuda, payroll tax accounts for over a third of the annual national budget, making it the primary source of government revenue. The tax is paid by employers based on the total paid to all employees. Employers are allowed to deduct a small percentage of an employees pay, another tax, social insurance, is withheld by the employer. In Brazil employers are required to withhold 11% of the wages for Social Security. The employer is required to contribute an additional 20% of the total value to the Social Security system. Depending on the main activity, the employer must also contribute to federally funded insurance. All these contributions amount to a tax burden of almost 40% of the payroll for the employer. The Northwest Territories in Canada applies a payroll tax of 2% to all employees and it is an example of the second type of payroll tax, but unlike in other jurisdictions it is paid directly by employees rather than employers. Unlike the first type of tax as it is applied in Canada, though. Ontario applies a health premium tax to all payrolls on a scale up to $900 per year. In China, the tax is a specific tax which is paid to provinces and territories by employers. The tax is deducted from the workers pay, employee payroll tax is made up of assigned taxes for the three branches of social security system and includes both basic and supplementary coverage. Different percentages apply depending on thresholds that are multiples of the social security earnings ceiling, german employers are obliged to withhold wage tax on a monthly basis
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Social Security (United States)
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In the United States, Social Security is the commonly used term for the federal Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance program. Social Security is funded primarily through taxes called Federal Insurance Contributions Act tax or Self Employed Contributions Act Tax. With a few exceptions, all salaried income, up to an amount specifically determined by law, is subject to the Social Security payroll tax, all income over said amount is not taxed. In 2017, the amount of taxable earnings was $127,200. With few exceptions, all legal residents working in the United States now have an individual Social Security number. Indeed, nearly all working residents since Social Securitys 1935 inception have had a Social Security number because it is required to do a range of things, e. g. paying the IRS. In 2015, Social Security expenditures totaled $750.5 billion for OASDI, Social Security Timeline 1935 The 37-page Social Security Act signed August 14 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Landmark U. S. Supreme Court ruling that gave Congress the power to amend, the Court also ruled that recipients have no contractual right to receive payments. 1961 Early retirement age lowered to age 62 at reduced benefits 1965 Medicare health care benefits added to Social security—20 million joined in three years 1966 Medicare tax of 0, the Earnings limit doubled exemption amount for retired Social Security beneficiaries. The Act was an attempt to limit unforeseen and unprepared for dangers in the life, including old age, disability, poverty, unemployment. Opponents, however, decried the proposal as socialism, in a Senate Finance Committee hearing, Senator Thomas Gore asked Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins, Isnt this socialism. She said that it was not, but he continued, Isnt this a bit of socialism. By 1950, debates moved away from which occupational groups should be included to get enough taxpayers to fund Social Security to how to provide more benefits, changes in Social Security have reflected a balance between promoting equality and efforts to provide adequate and affordable protection for low wage workers. These retirement benefits are a form of insurance that is heavily biased toward lower paid workers to make sure they do not have to retire in relative poverty. The OASI accounts plus trust funds are the only Social Security funding source that brings in more than it sends out, Social Security revenues exceeded expenditures, between 1983 and 2009. The disability insurance taxes of 1. 4% are included in the OASDI rate of 6. 2% for workers and employers or 12. 4% for the self-employed, the additional retirees expected under the baby boom bulge will hasten this trust fund depletion. Medicare expenses, tied to medical costs growth rates, have traditionally increased much faster than GDP growth rates, for workers the Social Security tax rate is 6. 2% on income under $127,200 through the end of 2017. The worker Medicare tax rate is 1. 45% of all income—employers pay another 1. 45%, employers pay 6. 2% up to the wage ceiling and the Medicare tax of 1.45 percent on all income
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Medicare (United States)
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United States Medicare is funded by a payroll tax, premiums and surtaxes from beneficiaries, and general revenue. It provides health insurance for Americans aged 65 and older who have worked, in 2015, Medicare provided health insurance for over 55 million—46 million people age 65 and older and nine million younger people. On average, Medicare covers about half of the health care charges for those enrolled, the enrollees must then cover their remaining costs either with supplemental insurance, separate insurance, or out-of-pocket. Out-of-pocket costs can vary depending on the amount of care a Medicare enrollee needs. They might include the costs of uncovered services—such as for long-term, dental, hearing, a similar but different CMS system determines the rates paid acute care and other hospitals—including skilled nursing facilities—under Medicare Part A. Medicare was the originally given to a program providing medical care for families of individuals serving in the military as part of the Dependents Medical Care Act passed in 1956. President Eisenhower held the first White House Conference on Aging in January 1961, johnson signed the bill into law on July 30,1965 at the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library in Independence, Missouri. Former President Truman and his wife, former First Lady Bess Truman became the first recipients of the program, many of this latter group became dual eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid with the passage of the law. In 1966, Medicare spurred the racial integration of thousands of waiting rooms, hospital floors, Medicare has been in operation for a half century and, during that time, has undergone several changes. Since 1965, the provisions of Medicare have expanded to include benefits for speech, physical, Medicare added the option of payments to health maintenance organizations in the 1980s. The association with HMOs begun in the 1980s was formalized under President Clinton in 1997 as Medicare Part C, in 2003, under President George W. Bush, a Medicare program for covering almost all drugs was passed as Medicare Part D. Since the creation of Medicare, science and medicine have advanced, the fact that people are living longer necessitates more services for later stages in life. Thus in 1982, the government added hospice benefits to aid the elderly on a temporary basis, two years later in 1984, hospice became a permanent benefit. Congress further expanded Medicare in 2001 to cover people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The Chief Actuary of CMS is responsible for providing accounting information, contracted processes include claims and payment processing, call center services, clinician enrollment, and fraud investigation. Beginning in 1997 and 2005 respectively, these and other companies also began administering Part C. Medicare has several sources of financing, Part As inpatient admitted hospital and skilled nursing coverage is largely funded by revenue from a 2. 9% payroll tax levied on employers and workers. Beginning January 1,1994, the limit was removed
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Internal Revenue Service
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The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The IRS is responsible for collecting taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code and its duty to maximize tax revenue entails providing tax assistance to taxpayers, as well as pursuing and resolving instances of erroneous or fraudulent tax filings. The IRS has also overseen various benefits programs, and enforces portions of the Affordable Care Act. The IRS originated with the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, an office created in 1862 to assess the nations first income tax. The temporary measure provided over a fifth of the Unions war expenses and was allowed to expire a decade later, in 1913, the Sixteenth Amendment to the U. S. Constitution was ratified authorizing Congress to impose a tax on income, in the 1950s, the agency was renamed the Internal Revenue Service and significantly reorganized. The Tax Reform Act of 1986 modernized the IRS and restructured it along a private sector model, in the 2015 fiscal year, the IRS processed almost 240 million returns and collected approximately $3.3 trillion in revenue, spending 35¢ for every $100 it collected. The Revenue Act of 1862 was passed as an emergency and temporary war-time tax and it copied a relatively new British system of income taxation, instead of trade and property taxation. The first income tax was passed in 1862, The initial rate was 3% on income over $800, in 1862 the rate was 3% on income between $600 and $10,000, and 5% on income over $10,000. In 1864 the rate was 5% on income between $600 and $5,000,7. 5% on income $5, 000–10,000, and 10% on income $10,000 and above. By the end of the war, 10% of Union households had paid some form of tax. After the Civil War, Reconstruction, railroads, and transforming the North and South war machines towards peacetime required public funding, however, in 1872, seven years after the war, lawmakers allowed the temporary Civil War income tax to expire. Income taxes evolved, but in 1894 the Supreme Court declared the Income Tax of 1894 unconstitutional in Pollock v. Farmers Loan & Trust Co. a decision that contradicted Hylton v. United States, the federal government scrambled to raise money. In 1906, with the election of President Theodore Roosevelt, and later his successor William Howard Taft, by February 1913,36 states had ratified the change to the Constitution. It was further ratified by six states by March. Of the 48 states at the time,42 ratified it, connecticut, Rhode Island, and Utah rejected the amendment, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Florida did not take up the issue. A copy of the very first IRS1040 form, dated 1913, in the first year after ratification of the Sixteenth Amendment, no taxes were collected—instead, taxpayers simply completed the form and the IRS checked it for accuracy. The IRSs workload jumped by ten-fold, triggering a massive restructuring, professional tax collectors began to replace a system of patronage appointments
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Howland Island
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Howland Island /ˈhaʊlənd/ is an uninhabited coral island located just north of the equator in the central Pacific Ocean, about 1,700 nautical miles southwest of Honolulu. The island lies almost halfway between Hawaii and Australia and is an unincorporated, unorganized territory of the United States, geographically, together with Baker Island it forms part of the Phoenix Islands. For statistical purposes, Howland is grouped as one of the United States Minor Outlying Islands, Howland is located at 0°48′24″N 176°36′59″W. It covers 1,112 acres, with 4 miles of coastline, the island has an elongated plantain-shape on a north-south axis. Howland Island National Wildlife Refuge consists of the island and the surrounding 32,074 acres of submerged land. The island is managed by the U. S. Fish, the atoll has no economic activity. It is perhaps best known as the island Amelia Earhart was searching for but never reached when her airplane disappeared on July 2,1937, airstrips constructed to accommodate her planned stopover were subsequently damaged, were not maintained and gradually disappeared. There are no harbors or docks, the fringing reefs may pose a maritime hazard. There is a landing area along the middle of the sandy beach on the west coast. The island is visited every two years by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the climate is equatorial, with little rainfall and intense sunshine. Temperatures are moderated somewhat by a constant wind from the east, the terrain is low-lying and sandy, a coral island surrounded by a narrow fringing reef with a slightly raised central area. The highest point is about six meters above sea level, there are no natural fresh water resources. The landscape features scattered grasses along with prostrate vines and low-growing pisonia trees, a 1942 eyewitness description spoke of a low grove of dead and decaying kou trees on a very shallow hill at the islands center. Howland is primarily a nesting, roosting and foraging habitat for seabirds, shorebirds, the U. S. claims an Exclusive Economic Zone of 200 nautical miles and a territorial sea of 12 nautical miles around the island. Since Howland Island is uninhabited, no time zone is specified and it lies within a nautical time zone which is 12 hours behind UTC. Sparse remnants of trails and other artifacts indicate a sporadic early Polynesian presence, a canoe, a blue bead, pieces of bamboo, and other relics of early settlers have been found. Emery, an ethnologist for Honolulus Bernice P, Worth of the Nantucket whaler Oeno sighted Howland around 1822 and called it Worth Island. Daniel MacKenzie of the American whaler Minerva Smith was unaware of Worths sighting when he charted the island in 1828, Howland Island was at last named on September 9,1842 after a lookout who sighted it from the whaleship Isabella under Captain Geo
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Baker Island
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Baker Island /ˈbeɪkər/ is an uninhabited atoll located just north of the equator in the central Pacific Ocean about 3,090 km southwest of Honolulu. The island lies almost halfway between Hawaii and Australia, the island covers 2.1 km2, with 4.8 km of coastline. The climate is equatorial, with rainfall, constant wind. The terrain is low-lying and sandy, an island surrounded by a narrow fringing reef with a depressed central area devoid of a lagoon with its highest point being 8 m above sea level. The island now forms the Baker Island National Wildlife Refuge and is an unincorporated and unorganized territory of the U. S. which vouches for its defense and it is visited annually by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. For statistical purposes, Baker is grouped with the United States Minor Outlying Islands, Baker Island is also the last piece of land that experiences the New Year. A cemetery and rubble from earlier settlements are located near the middle of the west coast, there are no ports or harbors, with anchorage available only offshore. The narrow fringing reef surrounding the island can be a maritime hazard, bakers abandoned World War II runway,5,463 ft long, is completely covered with vegetation and is unserviceable. The United States claims an Exclusive Economic Zone of 200 nautical miles, during a 1935–1942 colonization attempt, the island was most likely on Hawaii time, which was then 10.5 hours behind UTC. Since it is uninhabited the islands time zone is unspecified, Baker was discovered in 1818 by Captain Elisha Folger of the Nantucket whaling ship Equator, who called the island New Nantucket. In August 1825 Baker was sighted by Captain Obed Starbuck of the Loper, the island is named for Michael Baker, who visited the island in 1834. Other references state that he visited in 1832, and again on August 14,1839, in the whaler Gideon Howland, Captain Baker claimed the island in 1855, then he sold his interest to a group who later formed the American Guano Company. The United States took possession of the island in 1857, claiming it under the Guano Islands Act of 1856 and its guano deposits were mined by the American Guano Company from 1859 to 1878. On 7 December 1886, it all its rights to the British firm John T. Arundel and Company. Arundel applied in 1897 to the British Colonial Office for a licence to work the island on the presumption that the USA had abandoned their claim, the United Kingdom then considered Baker Island as a British territory, while never formally annexing it. This short-lived attempt at colonization begun when American colonists arrived aboard the USCGC Itasca and they built a lighthouse and substantial dwellings, and they attempted to grow various plants. The settlement was named Meyerton, after Captain H. A, meyer of the United States Army, who helped establish the camps in 1935. One sad-looking clump of coconut palms was jokingly called King-Doyle Park after two well-known citizens of Hawaii who visited on the Taney in 1938, King-Doyle Park was later adopted as a geographic name by the USGS
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Jarvis Island
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Jarvis Island is an uninhabited 1 3⁄4-square-mile coral island located in the South Pacific Ocean at 0°22′S 160°01′W, about halfway between Hawaii and the Cook Islands. Unlike most coral atolls, the lagoon on Jarvis is wholly dry, Jarvis is one of the Line Islands and for statistical purposes is also grouped as one of the United States Minor Outlying Islands. While a few offshore anchorage spots are marked on maps, Jarvis island has no ports or harbors, there is a boat landing area in the middle of the western shoreline near a crumbling day beacon, and another near the southwest corner of the island. The center of Jarvis island is a lagoon where deep guano deposits accumulated. The island has a desert climate, with high daytime temperatures, constant wind. The ground is mostly sandy and reaches 23 feet at its highest point, because of the islands distance from other large landmasses, the Jarvis Island high point is the 36th most isolated peak in the world. The low-lying coral island has long noted as hard to sight from small ships and is surrounded by a narrow fringing reef. Located only 25 miles south of the equator, Jarvis has no natural freshwater lens. This creates a bleak, flat landscape without any plants larger than shrubs. There is no evidence that the island has supported a self-sustaining human population. Its sparse bunch grass, prostrate vines and low-growing shrubs are primarily a nesting, roosting, and foraging habitat for seabirds, shorebirds, and marine wildlife. The islands first known sighting by Europeans was on August 21,1821 by the British ship Eliza Francis owned by Edward, Thomas and William Jarvis and commanded by Captain Brown. In March 1857 the island was claimed for the United States under the Guano Islands Act and formally annexed on February 27,1858. The American Guano Company, which was incorporated in 1857, established claims in respect of Baker Island, beginning in 1858, several support structures were built on Jarvis Island, along with a two-story, eight-room superintendents house featuring an observation cupola and wide verandahs. Tram tracks were laid down for bringing mined guano to the western shore, one of the first loads was taken by Samuel Gardner Wilder. Squire Flockton was left alone on the island as caretaker for several months and committed suicide there in 1883 and his wooden grave marker was a carved plank which could be seen in the islands tiny four-grave cemetery for decades. John T. Arundel & Co. resumed mining guano from 1886 to 1899, the United Kingdom annexed the island on June 3,1889. Phosphate and copra entrepreneur John T. Arundel visited the island in 1909 on maiden voyage of the S. S
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Johnston Atoll
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Johnston Atoll, also known as Kalama Atoll to Native Hawaiians, is an unincorporated territory of the United States currently administered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Public entry is only by special-use permit from the U. S. Fish, for nearly 70 years, the atoll was under the control of the American military. These activities left the area environmentally contaminated and remediation and monitoring continue, the Johnston Atoll is a deserted 1,300 ha atoll in the North Pacific Ocean located about 750 nmi southwest of the island of Hawaii and is grouped as one of the United States Minor Outlying Islands. The atoll, which is located on a coral platform, has four islands. Johnston Island and Sand Island are both enlarged natural features, while Akau and Hikina are two artificial islands formed by coral dredging, the four islands compose a total land area of 2.67 square kilometres. Due to the tilt, much of the reef on the southeast portion has subsided. But even though it not have an encircling reef crest. The climate is tropical but generally dry, northeast trade winds are consistent and there is little seasonal temperature variation. With elevation ranging from sea level to 5 m at Summit Peak, the first Western record of the atoll was on September 2,1796 when the Boston-based American brig Sally accidentally grounded on a shoal near the islands. The ships captain, Joseph Pierpont, published his experience in several American newspapers the following year giving a position of Johnston. However, he did not name or lay claim to the area, the islands were not officially named until Captain Charles J. Johnston of the Royal Naval ship HMS Cornwallis sighted them on December 14,1807. In the following years, an occasional vessel stopped, but generally one look was enough. The Guano Islands Act, enacted on August 18,1856, was legislation passed by the U. S. Congress that enabled citizens of the U. S. to take possession of islands containing guano deposits. In 1858 William Parker and R. F. Ryan, chartered the schooner Palestine specifically to find Johnston Atoll and they located guano on the atoll in March 1858 and they proceeded to claim the island. By 1858, Johnston Atoll was claimed by both the United States and the Kingdom of Hawaii, in June 1858, Samuel Allen, sailing on the Kalama, tore down the U. S. flag and raised the Hawaiian flag renaming the atoll Kalama. The larger island was renamed Kalama Island, and the smaller island was called Cornwallis. Returning on July 27,1858, the Captain of the Palestine again hoisted the American flag, the same day, the atoll was declared part of the domain of King Kamehameha IV. On this visit however the Palestine left two crew members on the island to gather phosphate, however, later that year King Kamehameha revoked the lease granted to Samuel Allen when the King learned that the atoll had been claimed previously by the United States
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Midway Atoll
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Midway Atoll is a 2. 4-square-mile atoll in the North Pacific Ocean at 28°12′N 177°21′W. As its name suggests, Midway is roughly equidistant between North America and Asia, Midway Atoll is an unorganized, unincorporated territory of the United States. Midway continues to be the island in the Hawaiian archipelago that is not part of the state of Hawaii. Unlike the other Hawaiian islands, Midway observes Samoa Time, which is one hour behind the time in the state of Hawaii, for statistical purposes, Midway is grouped as one of the United States Minor Outlying Islands. The Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, encompassing 590,991.50 acres of land and water in the area, is administered by the United States Fish. The refuge and most of its area are part of the larger Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. Until 1993, the atoll was the home of the Naval Air Facility Midway, the Battle of Midway, which was fought between June 4 and 6,1942, was one of the most important battles of the Pacific campaign of World War II. The United States Navy defeated a Japanese battle group marking a point in the war in the Pacific Theater. USAAF aircraft based at the original Henderson Field on Eastern Island joined the attack against the Japanese fleet, approximately 40 to 60 people live on the atoll, which includes staff of the US Fish and Wildlife Service and contract workers. At present, visitation to the atoll is only for business reasons as the tourism program has been suspended due to budget cutbacks. In 2012, the last year that the program was in operation,332 people made the trip to Midway. Tours focused on both the ecology of Midway as well as its military history. The economy is derived solely from governmental sources and tourist fees, nearly all supplies must be brought to the island by ship or plane, though a hydroponic greenhouse and garden supply some fresh fruits and vegetables. As its name suggests, Midway is roughly equidistant between North America and Asia, and lies almost halfway around the world longitudinally from Greenwich and it is near the northwestern end of the Hawaiian archipelago, about one-third of the way from Honolulu, Hawaii, to Tokyo, Japan. Midway Atoll is less than 140 nautical miles east of the International Date Line, about 2,800 nautical miles west of San Francisco, and 2,200 nautical miles east of Tokyo. Midway Atoll is part of a chain of islands, atolls. It consists of a barrier reef and several sand islets. The two significant pieces of land, Sand Island and Eastern Island, provide a habitat for millions of seabirds
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Palmyra Atoll
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Palmyra Atoll is one of the Northern Line Islands, located almost due south of the Hawaiian Islands, roughly one-third of the way between Hawaii and American Samoa. The nearest continent is almost 5,400 kilometres to the northeast, the atoll is 4.6 sq mi, and it is located in the equatorial Northern Pacific Ocean. Its 9 mi of coastline has one known as West Lagoon. It is an unoccupied equatorial Northern Pacific atoll administered as an incorporated territory by the United States federal government. The atoll consists of a reef, two shallow lagoons, and some 50 sand and reef-rock islets and bars covered with vegetation—mostly Coconut palms, Scaevola. The islets of the atoll are mostly connected, sand Island and the two Home Islets in the west and Barren Island in the east are not. The largest island is Cooper Island in the north, followed by Kaula Island in the south, average annual rainfall is approximately 175 in per year. Daytime temperatures average 85 °F year round, Palmyra is an incorporated territory of the United States, meaning that it is subject to all provisions of the U. S. Constitution and is permanently under American sovereignty, however, since Palmyra is also an unorganized territory, there is no Act of Congress specifying how Palmyra should be governed. Palmyra has no permanent residents, however, in 2004 accommodations were built to support a number of temporary inhabitants. The only relevant federal law simply gives the President the authority to administer Palmyra as directed, the issue of the governing of Palmyra is generally a moot point, since there is no permanent population remaining there, nor any reason to think that there will be in the future. Palmyra is the only unorganized incorporated territory of the United States, Cooper Island and ten other land parcels in this atoll are owned by The Nature Conservancy, Inc. which manages them as a nature reserve. The southwesternmost islets, including Home, are owned by descendants of former Palmyra owner Henry Ernest Cooper, the rest of Palmyra is federal land and waters under the jurisdiction of the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. For all other purposes, Palmyra is counted as one of the U. S, there is no current economic activity on Palmyra other than paid ecotourism visits and sport fishing by Nature Conservancy donors. Most of the roads and causeways there were built during World War II, All of these are now unserviceable and overgrown with bushes and grass, and most have washed-away gaps. There is a 2, 000-yard -long, unpaved, airstrip on Cooper Island that was built for the Palmyra Island Naval Air Station before, a construction program in 2004 erected several two-person bungalows and showers for the temporary residents. Fresh water is collected from the roof of a building in this area. The communal buildings of the area on the western coast of Cooper Island consist of about half a dozen buildings next to the only sea dock
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Wake Island
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The island is an unorganized, unincorporated territory of the United States that is also claimed by the Marshall Islands. Wake Island is one of the most isolated islands in the world, Wake Island is administered by the United States Air Force, under an agreement with the Department of the Interior. The center of activity on the atoll is at Wake Island Airfield which is used as a mid-Pacific refueling stop for military aircraft. The 9, 800-foot runway is the longest strategic runway in the Pacific islands, the Base Operations Support contractor at Wake is Chugach Alaska Corporation. About 94 people live on the island, and access to it is restricted, the island fell to Japanese forces, however,12 days later in a second attack, this one with extensive support from Japanese carrier-based aircraft returning from the attack on Pearl Harbor. Wake Island remained occupied by Japanese forces until the end of the war, the submerged and emergent lands at the atoll are a unit of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument. For statistical purposes, Wake Island is grouped as one of the United States Minor Outlying Islands by the International Organization for Standardization, Wake Island derives its name from British sea captain Samuel Wake, who rediscovered the atoll in 1796 while in command of the Prince William Henry. The name is attributed to Captain William Wake, who also is reported to have discovered the atoll from the Prince William Henry in 1792. Wake is located two-thirds of the way between Honolulu,2,300 statute miles to the east and Guam,1,510 statute miles to the west, the closest land is the uninhabited Bokak Atoll 348 mi in the Marshall Islands to the southeast. The atoll is to the west of the International Date Line and is in the Wake Island Time Zone, Sea surface temperatures are warm all year long, reaching above 80 °F in summer and autumn. Typhoons occasionally pass over the island, on September 16,1967, at 10,40 pm local time, the eye of Super Typhoon Sarah passed over the island. Sustained winds in the eyewall were 130 knots, from the north before the eye, there were no serious injuries, and the majority of the civilian population was evacuated after the storm. On August 28,2006, the United States Air Force evacuated all 188 residents, in the ancient Marshallese religion, rituals surrounding the tattooing of tribal chiefs, called Iroijlaplap, were done using fresh human bones, which required a human sacrifice. A man could save himself from being sacrificed if he obtained a wing bone from a large seabird said to have existed on Enen-kio. Small groups would brave traveling to the atoll in hopes of obtaining this bone, no archaeological evidence has been found to suggest that there was ever a permanent or temporary settlement by Marshall Islanders on Wake Island. Wake Island was first encountered by Europeans on October 2,1568 by Spanish explorer, after visiting Tuvalu and the Solomon Islands, the expedition headed north and came upon Wake Island, a low barren island, judged to be eight leagues in circumference. Since the date, October 2,1568, was the eve of the feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, in 1796, Captain Samuel Wake of the British merchantman Prince William Henry also came upon Wake Island, naming the atoll for himself. In 1823, Captain Edward Gardner, while in command of the British Royal Navys whaling ship H. M. S, bellona, visited an island at 19°15′00″N 166°32′00″E, which he judged to be 20–25 miles long
26.
Kingman Reef
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It is the northernmost of the Northern Line Islands and lies 36 nautical miles northwest of the next closest island, and 930 nautical miles south of Honolulu. The reef encloses a lagoon up to 270 feet deep in its western part, the total area within the outer rim of the reef is 29 sq mi. There are two strips of dry land composed of coral rubble and giant clamshells on the eastern rim with areas of 2 and 1 acre having a coastline of 2 miles. The highest point on the reef is less than 5 feet above sea level and it has no natural resources and supports no economic activity. Kingman Reef has the status of a territory of the United States, administered from Washington. The atoll is closed to the public, for statistical purposes, Kingman Reef is grouped as part of the United States Minor Outlying Islands. In January 2009, Kingman Reef was designated a national monument. The Island also has a flag, the pre-20th century names Danger Reef, Caldew Reef, Maria Shoal and Crane Shoal refer to this atoll, which by then was entirely submerged at high tide. Thomas Hale Streets described its state in the 1870s, when it had, hardly, as yet, assumed the distinctive features of an island. It is entirely under water at high tide, and but a few coral heads project here and there above the surface at low water, in the course of time, however, it will undoubtedly be added to the. Kingman Reef was discovered by the American Captain Edmund Fanning of the ship Betsey on June 14,1798, Captain W. E. Kingman described it on November 29,1853. Kingman Reef was claimed in 1860 by the United States Guano Company and this claim was made under by the Guano Islands Act of 1856 although there is no evidence that guano existed or was ever mined on Kingman Reef. On December 29,1934, the US Navy assumed jurisdiction over Kingman Reef, the lagoon was used in 1937 and 1938 as a halfway station between Hawaii and American Samoa by Pan American Airways flying boats. Pan Am wanted to expand flights into the Pacific and include Australia, in 1935 it was decided that the lagoon at Kingman Reef was suitable for overnight stops en route from the U. S. to New Zealand via Samoa. Kingman Reef became the stopover to and from Pago Pago, American Samoa, a supply ship, the North Wind, was stationed at Kingman Reef to provide fuel, lodging, and meals. The S42B Pan American Clipper II, piloted by Captain Edwin Musick, several successful flights followed, but the flight on January 11,1938 ended in tragedy. Shortly after the early morning take off from Pago Pago, bound for New Zealand, the right outboard engine had developed an oil leak and the plane burst into flames while dumping fuel, there were no survivors. As a result of the tragedy, Pan Am ended flights to New Zealand via Kingman Reef, a new route was established in July 1940 by way of Canton Island and New Caledonia
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United States Department of State
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The Department was created in 1789 and was the first executive department established. The Department is headquartered in the Harry S Truman Building located at 2201 C Street, NW, the Department operates the diplomatic missions of the United States abroad and is responsible for implementing the foreign policy of the United States and U. S. diplomacy efforts. The Department is also the depositary for more than 200 multilateral treaties, the Department is led by the Secretary of State, who is nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate and is a member of the Cabinet. The current Secretary of State is Rex Tillerson, beginning 1 February 2017, the Secretary of State is the second Cabinet official in the order of precedence and in the presidential line of succession, after the Vice President of the United States. This legislation remains the law of the Department of State. In September 1789, additional legislation changed the name of the agency to the Department of State and these responsibilities grew to include management of the United States Mint, keeper of the Great Seal of the United States, and the taking of the census. President George Washington signed the new legislation on September 15, most of these domestic duties of the Department of State were eventually turned over to various new Federal departments and agencies that were established during the 19th century. On September 29,1789, President Washington appointed Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, then Minister to France, from 1790 to 1800, the State Department had its headquarters in Philadelphia, the capital of the United States at the time. It occupied a building at Church and Fifth Streets, in 1800, it moved from Philadelphia to Washington, D. C. where it first occupied the Treasury Building and then the Seven Buildings at 19th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. It moved into the Six Buildings in September 1800, where it remained until May 1801 and it moved into the War Office Building due west of the White House in May 1801. It occupied the Treasury Building from September 1819 to November 1866 and it then occupied the Washington City Orphan Home from November 1866 to July 1875. It moved to the State, War, and Navy Building in 1875, since May 1947, it has occupied the Harry S. Truman Building in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, the State Department is therefore sometimes metonymically referred to as Foggy Bottom. Madeleine Albright became the first woman to become the United States Secretary of State, condoleezza Rice became the second female secretary of state in 2005. Hillary Rodham Clinton became the female secretary of state when she was appointed in 2009. In 2014, the State Department began expanding into the Navy Hill Complex across 23rd Street NW from the Truman Building, the Executive Branch and the U. S. Congress have constitutional responsibilities for U. S. foreign policy. Within the Executive Branch, the Department of State is the lead U. S, the Department advances U. S. objectives and interests in the world through its primary role in developing and implementing the Presidents foreign policy. It also provides an array of important services to U. S. citizens, the total Department of State budget, together with Other International Programs, costs about 45 cents a day for each resident of the United States. Keeping the public informed about U. S. foreign policy and relations with other countries, providing automobile registration for non-diplomatic staff vehicles and the vehicles of diplomats of foreign countries having diplomatic immunity in the United States
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Sovereignty
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Sovereignty is understood in jurisprudence as the full right and power of a governing body to govern itself without any interference from outside sources or bodies. In political theory, sovereignty is a term designating supreme authority over some polity. It is a basic principle underlying the dominant Westphalian model of state foundation, derived from Latin through French souveraineté, its attainment and retention, in both Chinese and Western culture, has traditionally been associated with certain moral imperatives upon any claimant. The concept of sovereignty has been discussed throughout history, and is still actively debated and it has changed in its definition, concept, and application throughout, especially during the Age of Enlightenment. The current notion of state sovereignty contains four aspects consisting of territory, population, authority, Sovereignty is a hypothetical trade, in which two potentially conflicting sides, respecting de facto realities of power, exchange such recognitions as their least costly strategy. The Roman jurist Ulpian observed that, The imperium of the people is transferred to the Emperor, the Emperor is not bound by the law. Emperor is the law making and abiding force, Ulpian was expressing the idea that the Emperor exercised a rather absolute form of sovereignty, although he did not use the term expressly. Classical Ulpians statements were known in medieval Europe, but sovereignty was an important concept in medieval times, Medieval monarchs were not sovereign, at least not strongly so, because they were constrained by, and shared power with, their feudal aristocracy. Furthermore, both were strongly constrained by custom, Sovereignty existed during the Medieval Period as the de jure rights of nobility and royalty, and in the de facto capability of individuals to make their own choices in life. 1380–1400, the issue of sovereignty was addressed in Geoffrey Chaucers Middle English collection of Canterbury Tales. The story revolves around the knight Sir Gawain granting to Dame Ragnell, his new bride, what is purported to be wanted most by women and we desire most from men, From men both lund and poor, To have sovereignty without lies. For where we have sovereignty, all is ours, Though a knight be ever so fierce and it is our desire to have master Over such a sir. Jean Bodin, partly in reaction to the chaos of the French wars of religion, in his 1576 treatise Les Six Livres de la République Bodin argued that it is inherent in the nature of the state that the sovereign must have both great and perpetual authority. Bodin rejected the notion of transference of sovereignty from people to the ruler, however, although he is often connected with absolutism, Bodin held some moderate opinions on how government should in practice be carried out. Thus, Bodin’s sovereign was restricted by the law of the state. Bodin believed that “the most divine, most excellent, and the form most proper to royalty is governed partly aristocratically and partly democratically”. With his doctrine that sovereignty is conferred by law, Bodin predefined the scope of the divine right of kings. During the Age of Enlightenment, the idea of sovereignty gained both legal and moral force as the main Western description of the meaning and power of a State
29.
The Nature Conservancy
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The Nature Conservancy is a charitable environmental organization, headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, United States. Its mission is to conserve the lands and waters on all life depends. The Conservancys work focuses on the priorities of Lands, Water, Climate, Oceans. Founded in Arlington, Virginia, in 1951, The Nature Conservancy now impacts conservation in 69 countries, the Conservancy has over one million members, and has protected more than 119,000,000 acres of land and thousands of miles of rivers worldwide. The Nature Conservancy also operates more than 100 marine conservation projects globally, the organizations assets total $6.71 billion as of 2015. The Nature Conservancy is the largest environmental nonprofit by assets and by revenue in the Americas, the Nature Conservancy rates as one of the most trusted national organizations in Harris Interactive polls every year since 2005. Forbes magazine rated The Nature Conservancys fundraising efficiency at 88 percent in its 2005 survey of the largest U. S. charities, the Nature Conservancy is led by President and CEO Mark Tercek, a former managing director at Goldman Sachs. He is the author of the Washington Post and Publisher’s Weekly bestselling book Nature’s Fortune, How Business, the Nature Conservancys Chief Scientist is Australian Hugh Possingham, who was named to this position in 2016. The current board chairman is Craig McCaw, the Chairman & CEO of Eagle River Inc, other current members include former U. S. Senator Bill Frist, chairman of the Alibaba Group Jack Ma, the Nature Conservancy developed out of an older organization known as the Ecological Society of America. The latter society was founded in 1915 and two later formed a Committee on Preservation of Natural Areas for Ecological Study, headed by Victor Shelford. The divide in viewpoints led the society to dissolve the committee, the latter group eventually took the name The Nature Conservancy, in emulation of the British agency of that name, which pursued a mission of conserving open space and wildlife preserves. The Nature Conservancy was incorporated in the United States as an organization on October 22,1951. The Nature Conservancy takes an approach to conservation, setting goals that describe the results it wants to achieve for biodiversity. The Nature Conservancy sets both long-term and near-term goals for conserving the abundance and geographic distribution of species and ecological systems. The organizations overall goal is to ensure the survival of all biodiversity on Earth. The Nature Conservancy works with all sectors of society including businesses, individuals, communities, partner organizations, the Nature Conservancy has pioneered new land preservation techniques such as the conservation easement and debt for nature swaps. A conservation easement is a way for owners to ensure that their land remains in its natural state while capitalizing on some of the lands potential development value
30.
United States Fish and Wildlife Service
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The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is an agency of the federal government within the U. S. Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is working with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The leader of the FWS is the director of the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service Daniel M. Ashe, of Maryland, bavin National Fish and Wildlife Forensic Laboratory Landscape Conservation Cooperatives The vast majority of fish and wildlife habitat is on non-federal lands. The FWS employs approximately 9,000 people and is organized into an administrative office, eight regional offices. Spencer Fullerton Baird was appointed its first commissioner, in 1903, the Fish Commission was reorganized as the United States Bureau of Fisheries. In 1885–1886, the Division of Economic Ornithology and Mammalogy was established within the United States Department of Agriculture, in 1896 it became the Division of Biological Survey. Its early work focused on the effect of birds in controlling pests and mapping the geographical distribution of plants. Clinton Hart Merriam headed the Bureau for 25 years and became a figure for improving the scientific understanding of birds. Under Darlings guidance, the Bureau began a legacy of protecting vital natural habitat throughout the country. The USFWS was finally created in 1940, when the Bureaus of Fisheries, however, these exceptions often only apply to Native Americans that are registered with the federal government and are enrolled with a federally recognized tribe. Therefore, many people that wish to practice their religion continue to face persecution. This has become a source of conflict between many tribes and the US Fish and Wildlife Service. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the USFWS began to incorporate the research of scientists into conservation decisions. Additionally, other natural resource agencies within the United States government, such as the USDA, have taken steps to be inclusive of tribes, native people. This has marked a transition to a relationship of more cooperation rather than the tension between tribes and government agencies seen historically, today, these agencies work closely with tribal governments to ensure the best conservation decisions are made and that tribes retain their sovereignty
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Guam
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Guam is an unincorporated and organized territory of the United States. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, Guam is one of five American territories with a civilian government. The capital city is Hagåtña and the most populous city is Dededo, in 2015,161,785 people resided on Guam. Guamanians are American citizens by birth, Guam has an area of 210 sq mi and a population density of 770/sq mi. It is the largest and southernmost of the Mariana Islands and the largest island in Micronesia, among its municipalities, Mongmong-Toto-Maite has the highest density at 3, 691/sq mi, whereas Inarajan and Umatac have the lowest density at 119/sq mi. The highest point is Mount Lamlam at 406 meters above sea level, the Chamorros, Guams indigenous people, settled the island approximately 4,000 years ago. Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan was the first European to visit the island on March 6,1521, Guam was colonized in 1668 with settlers, like Diego Luis de San Vitores, a Catholic 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 of the United Nations. Before World War II, Guam and three other territories – American Samoa, Hawaii, and the Philippines – were the only American jurisdictions in the Pacific Ocean. On December 7,1941, hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Guam was captured by the Japanese, during the occupation, Guamanians were subjected to beheadings, forced labor, rape, and torture. Guam endured hostilities when American forces recaptured the island on July 21,1944, since the 1960s, the economy is supported by two industries, tourism and the United States Armed Forces. The original inhabitants of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands are believed to be descendants of Austronesian people originating from Southeast Asia as early as 2000 BC and they evolved into the Chamorro people. The ancient-Chamorro society had four classes, chamorri, matua, achaot, the matua were located in the coastal villages, which meant they had the best access to fishing grounds, whereas the manachang were located in the interior of the island. Matua and manachang rarely communicated with other, and matua often used achaot as intermediaries. There were also makåhna, skilled in healing and medicine, belief in spirits of ancient Chamorros called Taotao mona still persists as a remnant of pre-European culture. Their society was organized along matrilineal clans, Latte stones are stone pillars that are found only in the Mariana Islands, and, they are a recent development in Pre-Contact Chamorro society. The latte-stone was used as a foundation on which thatched huts were built, Latte stones consist of a base shaped from limestone called the haligi and with a capstone, or tåsa, made either from a large brain coral or limestone, placed on top
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Guam Organic Act of 1950
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For the first time in over three hundred years of foreign colonization, the people of Guam had some measure of self-governance, however limited. The Organic Act provided for, an executive headed by a governor appointed by the President of the United States. This was the first time Guam residents were given the right to vote for the body created the laws that governed them. The ultimate laws that govern Guam are still those of the U. S. Prior to this, Guam residents were citizens of no country, except those who were naturalized in the U. S. mainland or who had served in the U. S. military, and a limited Bill of Rights. 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 The first bill providing for an Organic Act, representative Robert A. Grant of Indiana in the form of H. R.7044. This provided that Guam be accorded the status of an Organized territory. The bill, however, was never reported out of committee. The issue of authority came to a head in February 1949, when Abe Goldstein. Goldstein allegedly was one of a number of people in violation of a prohibition against Americans owning local businesses, Goldstein and others were accused of using Guamanian front men to finance the local businesses. Goldstein, however, refused to testify, having received support from Naval Governor Charles Alan Pownall. Pownall had vetoed the power of the Guam Assembly to subpoena Americans in October 1948, when Goldstein refused to testify, the Guam Assembly declared him guilty of contempt and issued a warrant for his arrest. Governor Pownall then intervened and halted execution of the warrant by the Guam Police Department, angered and frustrated by what they saw as a lack of respect and authority, the Guam Assembly walked out en masse on March 6,1949. Governor Pownall ordered them to return, but when the assemblymen refused and this dramatic encounter received international attention and widespread publicity that generated a great deal of support for self-government and U. S. citizenship for the people of Guam. Though the Assemblymen were later reinstated by Governor Pownall, U. S. citizenship, to pacify the island until the U. S. Congress could pass an Organic Act, U. S. President Harry S. Truman, issued Executive Order No. The executive departments and agencies of the government are authorized and directed to cooperate with the Departments of the Navy, 108-A of December 23,1898 is revoked, effective July 1,1950. The people of Guam were afforded the opportunity to set and administer policy and he took the oath of office on September 17,1949
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Northern Mariana Islands
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The CNMI includes all islands in the Mariana Archipelago except Guam which is the southernmost island of the chain and a separate U. S. territory. The United States Department of the Interior cites a landmass of 183.5 square miles, according to the 2010 United States Census,53,883 people were living in the CNMI at that time. The vast majority of the population resides on Saipan, Tinian, the administrative center is Capitol Hill, a village in northwestern Saipan. However, most publications consider Saipan to be the capital because the island is governed as a single municipality, the first people of the Mariana Islands immigrated at some point between 4000 BC and 2000 BC from Southeast Asia. After first contact with Spaniards, they became known as the Chamorros, a Spanish word similar to Chamori. The ancient people of the Marianas raised colonnades of megalithic capped pillars called latte stones upon which they built their homes, the first European explorer of the area, the Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan, arrived in 1521. He landed on Guam, the southernmost island of the Marianas, the Spanish ships were met offshore by the native Chamorros, who delivered refreshments and then helped themselves to a small boat belonging to Magellans fleet. This led to a clash, in Chamorro tradition, little property was private and taking something one needed, such as a boat for fishing. The Spanish did not understand this custom, and fought the Chamorros until the boat was recovered, three days after he had been welcomed on his arrival, Magellan fled the archipelago. Spain regarded the islands as annexed and later made part of the Spanish East Indies. In 1734, the Spanish built a palace in Guam for the governor of the islands. Its remains are visible even in the 21st century, see the Plaza de España article, Guam operated as an important stopover between Manila and Mexico for galleons carrying gold between the Philippines and Spain. Some galleons sunk in Guam remain, in 1668, Father Diego Luis de San Vitores renamed the islands Las Marianas in honor of his patroness the Spanish regent Mariana of Austria, widow of Felipe IV. Most of the native population died from Spanish diseases or married non-Chamorro settlers under Spanish rule. New settlers, primarily from the Philippines and the Caroline Islands, were brought to repopulate the islands, the Chamorro population gradually recovered, and Chamorro, Filipino, and Carolinian languages and other ethnic differences remain in the Marianas. During the 17th century, Spanish colonists forcibly moved the Chamorros to Guam, by the time they were allowed to return to the Northern Marianas, many Carolinians from present-day eastern Yap State and western Chuuk State had settled in the Marianas. Both languages, as well as English, are now official in the Commonwealth, the Northern Marianas experienced an influx of immigration from the Carolines during the 19th century. Both this Carolinian subethnicity and Carolinians in the Carolines archipelago refer to themselves as the Refaluwasch, the indigenous Chamoru word for the same group of people is gupalao
34.
Puerto Rico
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Puerto Rico, officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and briefly called Porto Rico, is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the northeast Caribbean Sea. It is an archipelago that includes the island of Puerto Rico and a number of smaller ones such as Mona, Culebra. The capital and most populous city is San Juan and its official languages are Spanish and English, though Spanish predominates. The islands population is approximately 3.4 million, Puerto Ricos rich history, tropical climate, diverse natural scenery, renowned traditional cuisine, and attractive tax incentives make it a popular destination for travelers from around the world. Four centuries of Spanish colonial government transformed the ethnic, cultural and physical landscapes primarily with waves of African captives, and Canarian. In the Spanish imperial imagination, Puerto Rico played a secondary, in 1898, following the Spanish–American War, the United States appropriated Puerto Rico together with most former Spanish colonies under the terms of the Treaty of Paris. Puerto Ricans are natural-born citizens of the United States, however, Puerto Rico does not have a vote in the United States Congress, which governs the territory with full jurisdiction under the Puerto Rico Federal Relations Act of 1950. As a U. S. territory, American citizens residing on the island are disenfranchised at the level and may not vote for president. However, Congress approved a constitution, allowing U. S. citizens on the territory to elect a governor. A fifth referendum will be held in June 2017, with only Statehood, in early 2017, the Puerto Rican government-debt crisis posed serious problems for the government. The outstanding bond debt that had climbed to $70 billion or $12,000 per capita at a time with 12. 4% unemployment, the debt had been increasing during a decade long recession. Puerto Ricans often call the island Borinquen – a derivation of Borikén, its indigenous Taíno name, the terms boricua and borincano derive from Borikén and Borinquen respectively, and are commonly used to identify someone of Puerto Rican heritage. The island is also known in Spanish as la isla del encanto. Columbus named the island San Juan Bautista, in honor of Saint John the Baptist, eventually traders and other maritime visitors came to refer to the entire island as Puerto Rico, while San Juan became the name used for the main trading/shipping port and the capital city. The islands name was changed to Porto Rico by the United States after the Treaty of Paris of 1898, the anglicized name was used by the US government and private enterprises. The name was changed back to Puerto Rico by a joint resolution in Congress introduced by Félix Córdova Dávila in 1931, the ancient history of the archipelago known today as Puerto Rico is not well known. The scarce archaeological findings and early Spanish scholarly accounts from the colonial era constitute the basis of knowledge about them. The first comprehensive book on the history of Puerto Rico was written by Fray Íñigo Abbad y Lasierra in 1786, the first settlers were the Ortoiroid people, an Archaic Period culture of Amerindian hunters and fishermen who migrated from the South American mainland
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Puerto Rico Federal Relations Act of 1950
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The Puerto Rico Federal Relations Act of 1950 was an Act of Congress of the 81st United States Congress signed by President Harry Truman in July 3,1950. From its enactment until this day, the act has served as the law for the government of Puerto Rico. The act was submitted for rejection or approval to the people of Puerto Rico in a referendum held in 1951 where it was approved by voters. As enacted by the act, such approval automatically authorized the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico to call for a convention in order to draft a constitution for Puerto Rico. Once assembled, this convention prepared a draft for a new constitution that was approved in a referendum held in March 3,1952. That constitution was ratified by the 82nd United States Congress with a few amendments. This amended constitution was officially proclaimed on July 25,1952. Once the constitution came into effect, the Puerto Rico Federal Relations Act automatically continued in force and effect the Jones–Shafroth Act and these two acts, along with Pub. L. 82–447, form the basis for Puerto Ricos government today
36.
United States Virgin Islands
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The United States Virgin Islands, officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of islands in the Caribbean that are an insular area of the United States. The islands are part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles. The U. S. Virgin Islands consist of the islands of Saint Croix, Saint John, and Saint Thomas. The total land area of the territory is 133.73 square miles, the territorys capital is Charlotte Amalie on the island of Saint Thomas. Previously the Danish West Indies of the Kingdom of Denmark–Norway, they were sold to the United States by Denmark in the Treaty of the Danish West Indies of 1916. They are classified by the U. N. as a Non-Self-Governing Territory, the U. S. Virgin Islands are organized under the 1954 Revised Organic Act of the Virgin Islands and have since held five constitutional conventions. The Fifth Constitutional Convention of the U. S. Virgin Islands met in October 2012 to address these concerns, in 2010 the population was 106,405, and mostly Afro-Caribbean. Tourism and related categories are the economic activity, employing a high percentage of the civilian non-farm labor force that totalled 42,752 persons in 2016. Private sector jobs made up 71 percent of the total workforce, the average private sector salary was $34,088 and the average public sector salary was $52,572. In a May 2016 report, some 11,000 people were categorized as being involved in some aspect of agriculture in the first half of 2016, at that time, there were approximately 607 manufacturing jobs and 1,487 natural resource and construction jobs. The single largest employer was the government, in mid February 2017, the USVI was facing a financial crisis due to a very high debt level of $2 billion and a structural budget deficit of $110 million. The U. S. Virgin Islands were originally inhabited by the Ciboney, Carib, the islands were named by Christopher Columbus on his second voyage in 1493 for Saint Ursula and her virgin followers. Over the next two hundred years, the islands were held by many European powers, including Spain, Great Britain, the Netherlands, France, and Denmark-Norway. The Danish West India Company settled on Saint Thomas in 1672, settled on Saint John in 1694, the islands became royal Danish colonies in 1754, named the Danish West Indian Islands. Sugarcane, produced by labor, drove the islands economy during the 18th and early 19th centuries. The Danish West India and Guinea Company are also credited with naming the island St. John, the Danish crown took full control of Saint John in 1754 along with St. Thomas and St. Croix. Sugarcane plantations such as the famous Annaberg Sugar Plantation were established in great numbers on St. John because of the intense heat, the establishment of sugarcane plantations also led to the buying of more slaves from Africa. In 1733 St. John was the site of one of the first significant slave rebellions in the New World when Akwamu slaves from the Gold Coast took over the island for six months, the Danish were able to defeat the enslaved Africans with help from the French in Martinique
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Revised Organic Act of the Virgin Islands
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The Revised Organic Act of the Virgin Islands is a United States federal law that repealed and replaced the previous Organic Act of the Virgin Islands. It was passed on July 22,1954 by the U. S. Congress, like other organic acts it functions as a constitution for a territory of the United States. The Revised Organic Act provides for, An executive branch headed by an elected by a majority of registered voters. A unicameral legislature of 15 members, elected by the residents of the U. S. Virgin Islands
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United States Department of the Interior
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The United States Department of the Interior is the United States federal executive department of the U. S. About 75% of federal land is managed by the department. The Department is administered by the United States Secretary of the Interior, the current Secretary is Ryan Zinke. The Inspector General position is vacant, with Mary Kendall serving as acting Inspector General. Despite its name, the Department of the Interior has a different role from that of the ministries of other nations. In the United States, national security and immigration functions are performed by the Department of Homeland Security primarily, the Department of the Interior has often been humorously called The Department of Everything Else because of its broad range of responsibilities. A department for domestic concern was first considered by the 1st United States Congress in 1789, the idea of a separate domestic department continued to percolate for a half-century and was supported by Presidents from James Madison to James Polk. The 1846–48 Mexican–American War gave the new steam as the responsibilities of federal government grew. Polks Secretary of the Treasury, Robert J. Walker, became a champion of creating the new department. In 1849, Walker stated in his report that several federal offices were placed in departments with which they had little to do. Walker argued that these and other bureaus should be together in a new Department of the Interior. A bill authorizing its creation of the Department passed the House of Representatives on February 15,1849, the Department was established on March 3,1849, the eve of President Zachary Taylors inauguration, when the Senate voted 31 to 25 to create the Department. Its passage was delayed by Democrats in Congress who were reluctant to create more patronage posts for the incoming Whig administration to fill, the first Secretary of the Interior was Thomas Ewing. Many of the concerns the Department originally dealt with were gradually transferred to other Departments. Other agencies became separate Departments, such as the Bureau of Agriculture, however, land and natural resource management, American Indian affairs, wildlife conservation, and territorial affairs remain the responsibilities of the Department of the Interior. As of mid-2004, the Department managed 507 million acres of surface land, energy projects on federally managed lands and offshore areas supply about 28% of the nations energy production. Within the Interior Department, the Bureau of Indian Affairs handles some federal relations with Native Americans, the current acting Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs is Lawrence S. Roberts, an enrolled member of the Oneida Tribe in Wisconsin. Several cases have sought accounting of such funds from the departments of Interior, in addition, some Native American nations have sued the government over water-rights issues and their treaties with the US
39.
Bajo Nuevo Bank
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The closest neighbouring land feature is Serranilla Bank, located 110 kilometres to the west. The reef was first shown on Dutch maps dating to 1634 but was given its present name in 1654, Bajo Nuevo was rediscovered by the English pirate John Glover in 1660. Although the bank is controlled by Colombia, it is subject to a sovereignty dispute involving Jamaica, Nicaragua. Bajo Nuevo Bank is about 26 km long and 9 km wide, the satellite image shows two distinct atoll-like structures separated by a deep channel 1.4 km wide at its narrowest point. The larger southwestern reef complex measures 15.4 km northeast-southwest, the reef partially dries on the southern and eastern sides. The smaller northeastern reef complex measures 10.5 km east-west and is up to 5.5 km wide, the land area is minuscule by comparison. The most prominent cay is Low Cay, in the southwestern atoll and it is 300 m long and 40 m wide, no more than 2 m high, and barren. It is composed of coral, driftwood, and sand. The light beacon on Low Cay is a 21 m metal tower and it emits a focal plane beam of light as two white flashes of light every 15 seconds. The beacon was erected in 1982, and reconstructed by the Colombian Ministry of Defence in February 2008 and it is currently maintained by the Colombian Navy, and overseen by the states Maritime Authority. Bajo Nuevo Bank is the subject of conflicting claims made by a number of sovereign states, in most cases, the dispute stems from attempts by a state to expand its exclusive economic zone over the surrounding seas. Colombia currently claims the area as part of the department of San Andrés, naval patrols in the area are carried out by the San Andrés fleet of the Colombian Navy. Colombia maintains that it has claimed these territories since 1886, as part of the archipelago of San Andrés. This date is disputed by other claimant states, most prominent among them Nicaragua, jamaicas claim has been largely dormant since entering into a number of bilateral agreements with Colombia. Between 1982 and 1986, the two maintained a formal agreement which granted regulated fishing rights to Jamaican vessels within the territorial waters of Bajo Nuevo. Jamaicas signing of treaty was regarded by critics as a de facto recognition of Colombian sovereignty over the two banks. The treaty is now extinguished, however, as Colombia declined to renew it upon its expiration in August 1986, however, the territorial waters immediately surrounding the cays themselves were excluded from the zone of joint-control, as Colombia considers these areas to be part of her coastal waters. The exclusion circles were defined in the attached to the treaty as Colombias territorial sea in Serranilla
40.
National Wildlife Refuge
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National Wildlife Refuge System is a designation for certain protected areas of the United States managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The National Wildlife Refuge System is the system of lands and waters set aside to conserve Americas fish, wildlife. National Wildlife Refuges manage a range of habitat types, including wetlands, prairies, coastal and marine areas. Among these hundreds of national refuges are home to some 700 species of birds,220 species of mammals,250 reptile and amphibian species and more than 1000 species of fish. Endangered species are a priority of National Wildlife Refuges in that nearly 60 refuges have been established with the purpose of conserving 280 threatened or endangered species. National Wildlife Refuges are also places where visitors can participate in a variety of outdoor recreational activities. The National Wildlife Refuge System welcomes nearly 50 million visitors each year, hunters visit more than 350 hunting programs on refuges and on about 36,000 Waterfowl Production Areas. Opportunities for fresh or saltwater fishing are available at more than 340 refuges, there is at least one wildlife refuge in each of the fifty states. The agency has created Comprehensive Conservation Plans for each refuge, developed through consultation with private and these began a review process by stakeholders beginning in 2013. The CCCPs must be consistent with the Fish and Wildlife Service goals for conservation, the CCPs outline conservation goals for each refuge for fifteen years into the future, with the intent that they will be revised every fifteen years thereafter. Additionally, NEPA requires FWS planners and refuge staff to engage the public in planning process to assist them with identifying the most appropriate alternative. Completed CCPs are available to the public and can be found on the FWS website, equally important is an intimate understanding of the social and economic drivers that impact and are impacted by management decisions and can facilitate or impede implementation success. Consideration of these contributes to the success of the Service’s mission to protect wildlife. The Refuge System works collaboratively internally and externally to leverage resources, according to the Services 2013 Banking on Nature Report, visitors to refuges positively impact the local economies. Prevention and control of fires is also a very active part of refuge management. Completion of controlled burns to reduce fuel loading, and participation in the wildland fire suppression efforts, are vital for management of refuge lands. A considerable infrastructure of physical structures is also essential to management of refuge lands. As of September 30,2015 there were 13,030 roads, bridges and trails,5,284 buildings,8,007 water management structures, the overall facility infrastructure is valued at nearly $30 billion
41.
Navassa Island
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Navassa Island is a small, uninhabited island in the Caribbean Sea. Navassa Island is about 2 square miles in area, Navassa reaches an elevation of 250 feet at Dunning Hill 110 yards south of the lighthouse, Navassa Island Light. This location is 440 yards from the southwestern coast or 655 yards east of Lulu Bay. The terrain of Navassa Island consists mostly of exposed coral and limestone, the island being ringed by white cliffs 30 to 50 feet high. The island is covered in a forest of just four species, short-leaf fig, pigeon plum, mastic. Navassa Islands topography and ecology are similar to that of Mona Island and it shares historical similarities with Mona Island since both are U. S. territories, were once centers of guano mining, and are nature reserves. Transient Haitian fishermen and others camp on the island but the island is otherwise uninhabited and it has no ports or harbors, only offshore anchorages, and its only natural resource is guano, economic activity consists of subsistence fishing and commercial trawling activities. Of these the first four remain common with the last four likely extinct, feral cats, dogs and pigs currently inhabit the island. In 1504, Christopher Columbus, stranded on Jamaica during his fourth voyage and they ran into the island on the way, but it had no water. They called it Navaza, and it was avoided by mariners for the next 350 years, from 1801 to 1867 the successive constitutions of Haiti claimed national sovereignty over adjacent islands, both named and unnamed, although Navassa was not specifically enumerated until 1874. Haiti protested the annexation, but on July 7,1858, U. S. President James Buchanan issued an Executive Order upholding the American claim, Navassa Island has since been maintained by the United States as an unincorporated territory. The United States Supreme Court on November 24,1890, in Jones v. United States,137 U. S.202 Id, as listed in its 1987 constitution, Haiti maintains its claim to the island. Guano phosphate is an organic fertilizer that became a mainstay of American agriculture in the mid-19th century. Duncan transferred his discoverers rights to his employer, an American guano trader in Jamaica, the living quarters at Lulu Bay were called Lulu Town, as appears on old maps. Hauling guano by muscle-power in the tropical heat, combined with general disgruntlement with conditions on the island, eventually provoked a rebellion in 1889. A U. S. warship returned eighteen of the workers to Baltimore for three separate trials on murder charges, Guano mining resumed on Navassa at a much reduced level. The Spanish–American War of 1898 forced the Phosphate Company to evacuate the island and file for bankruptcy, Navassa became significant again with the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914. Shipping between the American eastern seaboard and the Canal goes through the Windward Passage between Cuba and Haiti, Navassa, a hazard to navigation, needed a lighthouse
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Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands
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The Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands was a United Nations trust territory in Micronesia administered by the United States from 1947 to 1986. Spain initially claimed the islands that comprised the territory of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. Subsequently, Germany established competing claims over the islands, Germany, in turn, continued to retain possession until the islands were captured by Japan during World War I. The League of Nations formally placed the islands in the former South Pacific Mandate, the islands then remained under Japanese control until captured by the United States in 1944 during World War II. The TTPI entered UN trusteeship pursuant to Security Council Resolution 21 on July 18,1947 and was designated an area in its 1947 trusteeship agreement. The Territory contained 100,000 people scattered over an area the size of continental United States. They represented a variety of cultures and spoke nine languages, the Ponapeans and Kusaieans, Marshallese and Palauans, Truckese, Yapese and Chamorros had little in common, except they were in the same general area of the Pacific Ocean. The large distances between people, lack of an economy, language and cultural barriers, all worked against the union, the six district centers became upscale slums, containing deteriorated Japanese-built roads, with electricity, modern music and distractions, alienated youth and bewildered elders. The remainder of the islands stayed as they were historically, not progressing, a Congress of Micronesia first levied an income tax in 1971. It affected mainly foreigners working at bases in the region. On October 21,1986, the U. S. ended its administration of the Marshall Islands District. The termination of U. S. administration of the Chuuk, Yap, Kosrae, Pohnpei, in 1969, the 100 occupied islands comprised 700 square miles over an area of 3,000,000 square miles of sea. The latter area was comparable in size to the continental United States, the water area is about 2% of the Pacific Ocean. The population of the islands was 200,000 in the part of the 19th century. The population decreased to 100,000 by 1969 due to emigration, war, at that time, the population inhabited less than 100 out of 2,141 of the Marshall, Mariana, and Caroline Islands. The area is now divided into four jurisdictions, The following sovereign states have become associated with the United States under the Compact of Free Association
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United Nations trust territories
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United Nations trust territories were the successors of the remaining League of Nations mandates, and came into being when the League of Nations ceased to exist in 1946. All of the trust territories were administered through the United Nations Trusteeship Council, the one territory not turned over was South-West Africa, which South Africa insisted remained under the League of Nations Mandate. It eventually gained independence in 1990 as Namibia, the main objection was that the trust territory guidelines required that the lands be prepared for independence and majority rule. The concept is distinct from a temporarily and directly governed by the United Nations. All these territories previously were League of Nations mandates, the Trust Territory of the Cameroons under French administration, Achieved independence as the Republic of Cameroon in 1960. The Trust Territory of the Cameroons under British administration, Somewhat smaller than the French Cameroons, following a plebiscite, Northern Cameroons became part of Nigeria in May 1961 and Southern Cameroons joined the Republic of Cameroon in October 1961. In 1975, the two entities were legally unified and granted independence as Papua New Guinea, the western half of the island, formerly Dutch and now part of Indonesia, was never part of either territory. The Trust Territory of Ruanda-Urundi, Separately gained independence in 1962 as Rwanda, the Trust Territory of Tanganyika, Granted independence in 1961. Federated with the former British protectorate Zanzibar in 1964 to form Tanzania, the Trust Territory of Togoland under French administration, Became independent as Togo in 1960. The Trust Territory of Western Samoa, Granted independence in 1962 and these territories were also former League of Nations mandates. The Trust Territory of Nauru, Granted independence in 1968, with the exception of the Northern Mariana Islands, which is an American commonwealth, these are all associated states of the United States. The Trust Territory of Somaliland under Italian administration, Italy was appointed U. N. trustee of the former Italian Somaliland in 1950, in 1960, the Trust Territory merged with the former British Somaliland protectorate to form the Somali Republic. Korea, In wartime talks, Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed that Korea be placed under an American – Soviet trust administration. The plan was eclipsed after Roosevelts death on 12 April 1945, although it was expressed in the December Moscow Conference, Mandatory Palestine, United States government under Harry Truman proposed a UN trusteeship status for the Mandatory Palestine in 1948
Palmyra Atoll The U.S. Territory of Palmyra Island (Mostly owned by the federal government and the Nature Conservancy; administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
Guam (organized under the Guam Organic Act of 1950)
Northern Mariana Islands (Commonwealth, organized under 1975 covenant)
Puerto Rico (Commonwealth, organized under the Puerto Rico Federal Relations Act of 1950)
United States Virgin Islands (organized under the 1954 Revised Organic Act of the Virgin Islands)
American Samoa (Self-governing, even though officially unorganized; officially under authority of the U.S. Department of the Interior)
Navassa Island (disputed with Haiti)
Panama Canal Zone – acquired through the 1903 Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty; abolished October 1, 1979, as a term of the 1977 Torrijos–Carter Treaties.[b]
Philippines – acquired through the 1898 Treaty of Paris; U.S. sovereignty relinquished and the independence of the Republic of the Philippines recognized July 4, 1946, through the Treaty of Manila.
