Territories of the United States are one of the four types of political division

Political divisions of the United States

The political units and divisions of the United States include:*The 50 states are subdivided into counties . The counties may be further subdivided into townships, or towns in New York and New England...

 of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, overseen directly by the federal government of the United States and not any part of a U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

. These territories were created to govern newly acquired land while the borders of the United States were still evolving

Territorial evolution of the United States

This is a list of the evolution of the borders of the United States. This lists each change to the internal and external borders of the country, as well as status and name changes. It also shows the surrounding areas that eventually became part of the United States...

. Territories can be classified by whether they are incorporated (part of the United States proper) and whether they have an organized government (through an Organic Act

Organic Act

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. The first such act was the Northwest Ordinance, enacted by the Congress of the Confederation in 1787 in order to create the...

 passed by the U.S. Congress

United States Congress

The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....

 or a territorial constitution

Constitution

A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...

 (and functioning legislature), as the region was striving for statehood).

Many organized incorporated territories of the United States

Organized incorporated territories of the United States

Organized incorporated territories are those territories of the United States that are both incorporated and organized .Through most of U.S...

 existed from 1789 to 1959, through which 31 territories applied for and achieved statehood

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

. In the process of organizing and promoting territories to statehood, many unorganized territories were orphaned from the parts of a larger territory wherein the whole was ineligible, usually demographically lacking sufficient development and population densities at the time a vote could be taken petitioning Congress for statehood rights.

The U.S. had no unincorporated territories

Unincorporated territories of the United States

Unincorporated territory is a legal term of art in United States law denoting an area controlled by the government of the United States, but which is not a part of the United States proper ....

 (also called "overseas possessions" or "insular area

Insular area

An insular area is a United States territory, that is neither a part of one of the fifty U.S. states nor the District of Columbia, the federal district of the United States...

s") until 1856 but continues to control several of them today.

Incorporated and unincorporated territories

An incorporated territory of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 is a specific area under the jurisdiction of the United States, over which the United States Congress

United States Congress

The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....

 has determined that the United States Constitution

United States Constitution

The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...

 is to be applied to the territory's local government and inhabitants in its entirety (e.g., citizenship

Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution

The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868, as one of the Reconstruction Amendments.Its Citizenship Clause provides a broad definition of citizenship that overruled the Dred Scott v...

, trial by jury

Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution

The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution is the part of the United States Bill of Rights which sets forth rights related to criminal prosecutions...

), in the same manner as it applies to the local governments and residents of the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

s. Incorporated territories are considered an integral part of the United States, as opposed to being merely possessions.

All territory under the control of the federal government is considered part of the "United States" for purposes of law. From 1901 to 1905, the U.S. Supreme Court in a series of opinions known as the Insular Cases

Insular Cases

The Insular Cases are several U.S. Supreme Court cases concerning the status of territories acquired by the U.S. in the Spanish-American War . The name "insular" derives from the fact that these territories are islands and were administered by the War Department's Bureau of Insular Affairs...

 held that the Constitution extended ex proprio vigore to the territories. However, the Court in these cases also established the doctrine of territorial incorporation, under which the Constitution applies fully only in incorporated territories such as Alaska and Hawaii

Territory of Hawaii

The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 7, 1898, until August 21, 1959, when its territory, with the exception of Johnston Atoll, was admitted to the Union as the fiftieth U.S. state, the State of Hawaii.The U.S...

, and applies only partially in the new unincorporated territories of Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

, Guam

Guam

Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...

 and the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

.

To define what is an unincorporated territory in Balzac v. People of Porto Rico, 258 U.S. 298, 312 (1922), the Court used, as an argument of non-incorporated territory, the following statements regarding the court in Puerto Rico:
In Glidden Co. v. Zdanok

Glidden Co. v. Zdanok

Glidden Co. v. Zdanok , , is a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that judges of the Court of Claims and the Court of Customs and Patent Appeals were judges created under Article III of the Constitution...

, the court cited Balzac and made the following statement regarding courts in unincorporated territories:
The U.S. Supreme Court offers two ways in which incorporation could be made: "incorporation is not to be assumed without express declaration, or an implication so strong as to exclude any other view".

In Downes v. Bidwell, 182 U.S. 244, 319 (1901)) the Court also said:

Express or Implied?

In Balzac, where Chief Justice Taft delivered the opinion of the Court, the meaning of “implied” was specified:

Incorporated Territories U.S. Supreme Court declarations

"The inhabitants of the ceded territory . . . shall be admitted to the enjoyment of all the rights, advantages, and immunities of citizens of the United States;"
This declaration, although somewhat changed in phraseology, is the equivalent, as pointed out in Downes v. Bidwell, of the formula, employed from the beginning to express the purpose to incorporate acquired territory into the United States, especially in the absence of other provisions showing an intention to the contrary.". Here we see that the act of incorporation is on the people of the territory, not on the territory per se, by extending the privileges and immunities clause

Privileges and Immunities Clause

The Privileges and Immunities Clause prevents a state from treating citizens of other states in a discriminatory manner...

 of the Constitution to them. The U.S. Supreme Court statements follow:

Alaska Territory

Alaska Territory

The Territory of Alaska was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 24, 1912, until January 3, 1959, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Alaska...

Congress express declaration:

Rassmussen v. the United States (197 U.S. 516, 522 (1905)) arose out of a misdemeanor conviction in Alaska

Alaska

Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

 by a jury composed of six persons pursuant to a federal statute allowing such a procedure in Alaska. In a decision written by Justice White, a majority of the Court concluded that Alaska had been incorporated into the United States because the treaty of cession with Russia specifically declared that "the inhabitants of the ceded territory shall be admitted to the enjoyment of all the rights,advantages and immunities of citizens of the United States.

In addition, Congress implication so strong as to exclude any other view:
Justice Brown, in his concurring opinion, also expressed the same thought:

Florida Territory

Florida Territory

The Territory of Florida was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 30, 1822, until March 3, 1845, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Florida...

In Dorr v. USA (195 U.S. 138, 141-142 (1904)) Justice Marshall is quoted more extensively as follows:
In Downes v. Bidwell, 182 U.S. 244, 256 (1901), Justice Brown says:

Southwest Territory

Southwest Territory

The Territory South of the River Ohio, more commonly known as the Southwest Territory, was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 26, 1790, until June 1, 1796, when it was admitted to the United States as the State of Tennessee.The Southwest Territory was...

In Downes v. Bidwell supra at 321–322, the first mention of incorporation is made in the following paragraph by Justice Brown:

Louisiana Territory

Louisiana Territory

The Territory of Louisiana or Louisiana Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1805 until June 4, 1812, when it was renamed to Missouri Territory...

In Downes v. Bidwell supra at 252, it was said:
The Supreme Court of the United States is unanimous in its interpretation that the extension of the privileges and immunities clause of the Constitution of the United States to the inhabitants of a territory in effect produces the incorporation of that territory.
The net effect of incorporation is that the territory becomes an integral part of the geographical boundaries of the United States and cannot, from then on, be separated. Indeed, the whole body of the U.S. Constitution is extended to the inhabitants of that territory, except for those provisions that relate to its federal character.

More so, the needful rules and regulations of the territorial clause must yield to the Constitution and the inherent constraints imposed on it in dealing with the privileges and immunites of the inhabitants of the incorporated territory.
Notice must be taken that incorporation of a territory takes place through the incorporation of its inhabitants, not of the territory per se. As such, those inhabitants receive the full impact of the U.S. Constitution, except for those provisions that deal specifically with the federal character of the Union.

In the contemporary sense, the term "unincorporated territory" refers primarily to insular area

Insular area

An insular area is a United States territory, that is neither a part of one of the fifty U.S. states nor the District of Columbia, the federal district of the United States...

s. There is currently only one incorporated territory, Palmyra Atoll

Palmyra Atoll

Palmyra Atoll is an essentially unoccupied equatorial Northern Pacific atoll administered as an unorganized incorporated territory by the United States federal government...

, which is not an organized territory. Conversely, a territory can be organized without being an incorporated territory, a contemporary example being Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

.

See organized incorporated territories of the United States

Organized incorporated territories of the United States

Organized incorporated territories are those territories of the United States that are both incorporated and organized .Through most of U.S...

 and unincorporated territories of the United States

Unincorporated territories of the United States

Unincorporated territory is a legal term of art in United States law denoting an area controlled by the government of the United States, but which is not a part of the United States proper ....

 for timelines.

Organized Territory

Land under the sovereignty of the Federal government (but not part of any state) that were given a measure of self-rule

Self-governance

Self-governance is an abstract concept that refers to several scales of organization.It may refer to personal conduct or family units but more commonly refers to larger scale activities, i.e., professions, industry bodies, religions and political units , up to and including autonomous regions and...

 by the Congress through an Organic Act

Organic Act

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. The first such act was the Northwest Ordinance, enacted by the Congress of the Confederation in 1787 in order to create the...

 subject to the Congress’ plenary powers under the territorial clause of Article IV, sec. 3, of the U.S. Constitution).

Incorporated organized territories

No incorporated organized territories have existed since 1959, the last two being Territory of Hawaii

Territory of Hawaii

The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 7, 1898, until August 21, 1959, when its territory, with the exception of Johnston Atoll, was admitted to the Union as the fiftieth U.S. state, the State of Hawaii.The U.S...

 and Territory of Alaska, both which achieved statehood in that year.

Incorporated unorganized territories

• Palmyra Atoll
  Palmyra Atoll
  Palmyra Atoll is an essentially unoccupied equatorial Northern Pacific atoll administered as an unorganized incorporated territory by the United States federal government...
  
   is privately owned by the Nature Conservancy and administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior. It is an archipelago
  Archipelago
  An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...
  
   of about 50 small islands with about 1.56 sq mi (4 km²) of land area, lying about 1000 miles (1,609 km) south of Oahu, Hawaii. The atoll was acquired by the United States through the annexation of the Republic of Hawaii
  Republic of Hawaii
  The Republic of Hawaii was the formal name of the government that controlled Hawaii from 1894 to 1898 when it was run as a republic. The republic period occurred between the administration of the Provisional Government of Hawaii which ended on July 4, 1894 and the adoption of the Newlands...
  
   in 1898. When the Territory of Hawaii
  Territory of Hawaii
  The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 7, 1898, until August 21, 1959, when its territory, with the exception of Johnston Atoll, was admitted to the Union as the fiftieth U.S. state, the State of Hawaii.The U.S...
  
   was incorporated on April 30, 1900, Palmyra Atoll was incorporated as part of that territory. However, when the State of Hawaii was admitted to the Union in 1959, the Act of Congress
  Act of Congress
  An Act of Congress is a statute enacted by government with a legislature named "Congress," such as the United States Congress or the Congress of the Philippines....
  
   explicitly separated Palmyra Atoll from the newly federated state. Palmyra remained an incorporated territory, but received no new organized government.

Palmyra was formerly (before 1950) a seaplane

Seaplane

A seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft...

 base used by Pan American Airlines and the U.S. Navy. It had a Pan American hotel that was used for overnight stops by travelers. It was along an air travel route that linked Hawaii with American Samoa

American Samoa

American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the sovereign state of Samoa...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, and other destinations in the south Pacific as non-stop flights were not possible.

There are also "territories" that have the status of being incorporated but that are not organized:

• U.S. coastal waters out to 12 nautical miles offshore.
• U.S. flagged
  Maritime flag
  A maritime flag is a flag designated for use on ships, boats, and other watercraft. Naval flags are considered important at sea and the rules and regulations for the flying of flags are strictly enforced...
  
   vessels at sea, naval, coast guard, or civilian.

Unincorporated organized territories

• Guam
  Guam
  Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
  
   (since 1898): also the home of a U.S. Naval Base and a U.S. Air Force Base.
• Northern Mariana Islands
  Northern Mariana Islands
  The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , is a commonwealth in political union with the United States, occupying a strategic region of the western Pacific Ocean. It consists of 15 islands about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines...
  
  : formerly a United Nations Trust Territory under the administration of the United States, it established itself as a U.S. Commonwealth in 1978.
• Puerto Rico
  Puerto Rico
  Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
  
   (since 1898): established as a U.S. Commonwealth in 1952.
• United States Virgin Islands
  United States Virgin Islands
  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 geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles.The U.S...
  
   (since 1917): these were purchased by the U.S. from Denmark
  Kingdom of Denmark
  The Kingdom of Denmark or the Danish Realm , is a constitutional monarchy and sovereign state consisting of Denmark proper in northern Europe and two autonomous constituent countries, the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic and Greenland in North America. Denmark is the hegemonial part, where the...
  
  .

Unincorporated unorganized territories

Islands in the Pacific Ocean

• American Samoa
  American Samoa
  American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the sovereign state of Samoa...
  
  : (since 1898): locally self-governing under a constitution last revised in 1967.
  • Swains Island
    Swains Island
    Swains Island is an atoll in the Tokelau chain. Culturally a part of Tokelau, it is an unincorporated unorganized territory of the United States administered by American Samoa. Swains Island has also been known at various times as Olosenga Island, Olohega Island, Quiros Island, Gente Hermosa...
    
    : Annexed by the United States on March 4, 1925, currently administered by American Samoa, and claimed by Tokelau
    Tokelau
    Tokelau is a territory of New Zealand in the South Pacific Ocean that consists of three tropical coral atolls with a combined land area of 10 km2 and a population of approximately 1,400...
    
     (a dependency of New Zealand).
• Wake Island
  Wake Island
  Wake Island is a coral atoll having a coastline of in the North Pacific Ocean, located about two-thirds of the way from Honolulu west to Guam east. It is an unorganized, unincorporated territory of the United States, administered by the Office of Insular Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior...
  
  : no longer under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Navy, now only inhabited by civilian contractors. It is now primarily a wildlife refuge.
• Midway Islands: no longer under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Navy, now inhabited only by caretakers. It is now primarily a wildlife refuge.
• Johnston Atoll
  Johnston Atoll
  Johnston Atoll is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean about west of Hawaii. There are four islands located on the coral reef platform, two natural islands, Johnston Island and Sand Island, which have been expanded by coral dredging, as well as North Island and East Island , an additional two...
  
  : last used by the Department of Defense
  United States Department of Defense
  The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
  
   in about 2005.
• Baker Island
  Baker Island
  Baker Island is an uninhabited atoll located just north of the equator in the central Pacific Ocean about southwest of Honolulu. The island lies almost halfway between Hawaii and Australia, and is a possession of the United States. Its nearest neighbor is Howland Island, to the north.Located at...
  
  : now uninhabited
• Howland Island
  Howland Island
  Howland Island is an uninhabited coral island located just north of the equator in the central Pacific Ocean, about southwest of Honolulu. The island lies almost halfway between Hawaii and Australia and is an unincorporated, unorganized territory of the United States. Geographically, it is part...
  
  : now uninhabited
• Jarvis Island
  Jarvis Island
  Jarvis Island is an uninhabited 4.5 square kilometer coral island located in the South Pacific Ocean at , about halfway between Hawaii and the Cook Islands...
  
  : now uninhabited
• Kingman Reef
  Kingman Reef
  Kingman Reef is a largely submerged, uninhabited triangular shaped reef, east-west and north-south, located in the North Pacific Ocean, roughly half way between the Hawaiian Islands and American Samoa at...
  
  : now uninhabited

Islands in the Caribbean Sea

• Bajo Nuevo Bank
  Bajo Nuevo Bank
  Bajo Nuevo Bank, also known as the Petrel Islands , is a small, uninhabited reef with some small islets, covered with grass, located in the western Caribbean Sea at , with a lighthouse on Low Cay at . The closest neighbouring land feature is Serranilla Bank, located to the west.The reef was first...
  
  : uninhabited; also claimed by Colombia
  Colombia
  Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
  
  , by Nicaragua
  Nicaragua
  Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
  
  , and by Jamaica
  Jamaica
  Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
  
  .
• Serranilla Bank
  Serranilla Bank
  Serranilla Bank is a partially submerged reef, with small uninhabited islets, in the western Caribbean Sea. It is situated about northeast of Punta Gorda, Nicaragua, and roughly southwest of Jamaica. The closest neighbouring land feature is Bajo Nuevo Bank, located 110 km to the east.Serranilla...
  
  : currently the site of a Colombian naval garrison; also claimed by Nicaragua, and by Honduras
  Honduras
  Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
  
  .
• Navassa Island
  Navassa Island
  Navassa Island is a small, uninhabited island in the Caribbean Sea, claimed as an unorganized unincorporated territory of the United States, which administers it through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Haiti, which claims to have had sovereignty over Navassa since 1801, also claims the island...
  
  : uninhabited; claimed by Haiti
  Haiti
  Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
  
  .

Extraterritorial jurisdiction

The United States exercises some degree of extraterritorial jurisdiction

Extraterritorial jurisdiction

Extraterritorial jurisdiction is the legal ability of a government to exercise authority beyond its normal boundaries.Any authority can, of course, claim ETJ over any external territory they wish...

 over its embassy, overseas military, and leased areas such as:

• Guantanamo Bay Naval Base
  Guantanamo Bay Naval Base
  Guantanamo Bay Naval Base is located on of land and water at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba which the United States leased for use as a coaling station following the Cuban-American Treaty of 1903. The base is located on the shore of Guantánamo Bay at the southeastern end of Cuba. It is the oldest overseas...
  
   (since 1903): A 45 sq mi (117 km²) area of land along Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, to which the United States holds a perpetual lease. This is disputed by the Cuban government. The U.S. pays its annual lease payment by check, but the Cuban government has refused to cash them for decades.
• Certain other parcels in foreign countries held by lease, such as military bases, depending on the terms of a lease, treaty, or status of forces agreement with the host country.

Former incorporated organized territories of the United States

See Organized incorporated territories of the United States

Organized incorporated territories of the United States

Organized incorporated territories are those territories of the United States that are both incorporated and organized .Through most of U.S...

 for a complete list.

Former unincorporated territories of the United States (incomplete)

• The Line Islands
  Line Islands
  The Line Islands, Teraina Islands or Equatorial Islands, is a chain of eleven atolls and low coral islands in the central Pacific Ocean, south of the Hawaiian Islands, that stretches for 2,350 km in a northwest-southeast direction, making it one of the longest islands chains of the world...
  
   (? – 1979): Disputed claim with United Kingdom
  United Kingdom
  The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
  
  , all U.S. claims were ceded to Kiribati
  Kiribati
  Kiribati , officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island nation located in the central tropical Pacific Ocean. The permanent population exceeds just over 100,000 , and is composed of 32 atolls and one raised coral island, dispersed over 3.5 million square kilometres, straddling the...
  
   upon its independence in 1979.
• The Panama Canal Zone
  Panama Canal Zone
  The Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...
  
   (1903–1979): sovereignty was returned to Panama
  Panama
  Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
  
   under the Torrijos-Carter Treaties
  Torrijos-Carter Treaties
  The Torrijos–Carter Treaties are two treaties signed by the United States and Panama in Washington, D.C., on September 7, 1977, which abrogated the Hay-Bunau Varilla Treaty of 1903...
  
   of 1978; the U.S. retained a military base there and actual control of the Canal until December 31, 1999.
• The Corn Islands
  Corn Islands
  The Corn Islands are two islands about east off the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua, constituting one of 12 municipalities of the Región Autónoma del Atlántico Sur department...
  
   (1914–1971): leased for 99 years under the Bryan-Chamorro Treaty
  Bryan-Chamorro Treaty
  The Bryan-Chamorro Treaty was signed on August 5, 1914 under the approval of the Taft administration. The Wilson administration changed the treaty by adding a provision similar in language to that of the Platt Amendment, which would have authorized U.S. military intervention in Nicaragua...
  
  , but these were returned to Nicaragua
  Nicaragua
  Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
  
   upon the abrogation of the treaty in 1970.
• Roncador Bank
  Roncador Bank
  Roncador Bank is a mostly-submerged atoll with several sandy cays. It lies in the west Caribbean Sea off the coast of Central America. Originally claimed by the United States under the Guano Islands Act of 1856, the atoll was returned by the United States to Colombia on September 17, 1981, as the...
  
   (1856–1981): claimed under Guano Islands Act
  Guano Islands Act
  The Guano Islands Act is federal legislation passed by the U.S. Congress, on August 18, 1856. It enables citizens of the U.S. to take possession of islands containing guano deposits. The islands can be located anywhere, so long as they are not occupied and not within the jurisdiction of other...
  
   was ceded to Colombia on September 7, 1981, by treaty.
• Quita Sueño Bank
  Quita Sueño Bank
  Quita Sueño Bank is a reef formation of Colombia which was once claimed by the United States, located 110 km North-northeast of Providencia Island.-History:...
  
   (1869–1981): claimed under Guano Islands Act
  Guano Islands Act
  The Guano Islands Act is federal legislation passed by the U.S. Congress, on August 18, 1856. It enables citizens of the U.S. to take possession of islands containing guano deposits. The islands can be located anywhere, so long as they are not occupied and not within the jurisdiction of other...
  
  , claim abandoned on September 7, 1981, by treaty.
• Serrana Bank
  Serrana Bank
  The Serrana Bank is one of the few atolls in the Atlantic Ocean. Its mostly underwater reef of about 50 km long and 13 km wide has six cays or islets, the most prominent of which is Southwest Cay.The cays from south to north are:...
  
   (?–1981): claimed under Guano Islands Act
  Guano Islands Act
  The Guano Islands Act is federal legislation passed by the U.S. Congress, on August 18, 1856. It enables citizens of the U.S. to take possession of islands containing guano deposits. The islands can be located anywhere, so long as they are not occupied and not within the jurisdiction of other...
  
   was ceded to Colombia on September 7, 1981, by treaty.
• Swan Islands
  Swan Islands, Honduras
  The Swan Islands, or Islas Santanilla, are a chain of three islands located in the northwestern Caribbean Sea, approximately ninety miles off the coastline of Honduras, with a land area of .-Detailed location and features:...
  
   (1863–1972) claimed under Guano Islands Act
  Guano Islands Act
  The Guano Islands Act is federal legislation passed by the U.S. Congress, on August 18, 1856. It enables citizens of the U.S. to take possession of islands containing guano deposits. The islands can be located anywhere, so long as they are not occupied and not within the jurisdiction of other...
  
   was ceded to Honduras in 1972, by treaty.
• The Philippine Islands (1902–1935); the Commonwealth of the Philippines
  Commonwealth of the Philippines
  The Commonwealth of the Philippines was a designation of the Philippines from 1935 to 1946 when the country was a commonwealth of the United States. The Commonwealth was created by the Tydings-McDuffie Act, which was passed by the U.S. Congress in 1934. When Manuel L...
  
   (1935–46): granted full independence on July 4, 1946.
• Phoenix Islands
  Phoenix Islands
  The Phoenix Islands are a group of eight atolls and two submerged coral reefs, lying in the central Pacific Ocean east of the Gilbert Islands and west of the Line Islands. They are a part of the Republic of Kiribati. During the late 1930s they became the site of the last attempted colonial...
  
   (?–1979): Disputed claim with United Kingdom
  United Kingdom
  The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
  
  , all U.S. claims were ceded to Kiribati
  Kiribati
  Kiribati , officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island nation located in the central tropical Pacific Ocean. The permanent population exceeds just over 100,000 , and is composed of 32 atolls and one raised coral island, dispersed over 3.5 million square kilometres, straddling the...
  
   upon its independence in 1979.

Former unincorporated territories of the United States under military government

(April 11, 1899 – May 1, 1900): civil government operations began (August 14, 1898 – July 4, 1901): civil government operations began (April 11, 1899 – July 1, 1950): civil government operations began

Areas formerly administered by the United States (incomplete)

(April 11, 1899 – May 20, 1902): sovereignty recognized as Republic of Cuba. (August 14, 1898 – July 4, 1946): sovereignty recognized as Republic of the Philippines. was occupied by the United States from 1912 to 1933. was occupied by the United States for six months, from April 21, 1914 to November 23, 1914, consequential to the Tampico Affair

Tampico Affair

The Tampico Affair started off as a minor incident involving U.S. sailors and Mexican land forces loyal to General Victoriano Huerta during the guerra de las facciones phase of the Mexican Revolution...

. was occupied by the United States from 1915 to 1934. was occupied by the United States from 1916 to 1924 and again in 1965–1966. (1947–1986): included the Compact of Free Association

Compact of Free Association

The Compact of Free Association defines the relationship that three sovereign states—the Federated States of Micronesia , the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Republic of Palau—have entered into as associated states with the United States.Now sovereign nations, the three freely associated...

 nations (Marshall Islands

Marshall Islands

The Republic of the Marshall Islands , , is a Micronesian nation of atolls and islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator. As of July 2011 the population was 67,182...

, Federated States of Micronesia

Federated States of Micronesia

The Federated States of Micronesia or FSM is an independent, sovereign island nation, made up of four states from west to east: Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosrae. It comprises approximately 607 islands with c...

, and Palau

Palau

Palau , officially the Republic of Palau , is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Philippines and south of Tokyo. In 1978, after three decades as being part of the United Nations trusteeship, Palau chose independence instead of becoming part of the Federated States of Micronesia, a...

) and the Northern Mariana Islands

Northern Mariana Islands

The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , is a commonwealth in political union with the United States, occupying a strategic region of the western Pacific Ocean. It consists of 15 islands about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines...

 (1952–1972): returned to Japanese control, included some other minor islands under the Agreement Between the United States of America and Japan concerning the Ryukyu Islands and the Daito Islands.

• Nanpo Islands (1945–1968): Returned to Japanese control by mutual agreement.
• Marcus Island (or Minamitorishima) (1945–1968): Returned to Japanese control by mutual agreement. (1831–1832)

Other zones

• United States occupation of Greenland
  Greenland
  Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
  
   (1941–1945)
• United States occupation of Iceland
  Iceland
  Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
  
   (1941–1946)
• American Occupation Zones in Austria
  Austria
  Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
  
   and Vienna
  Vienna
  Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
  
   (1945–1955)
• American Occupation Zone in West Berlin
  West Berlin
  West Berlin was a political exclave that existed between 1949 and 1990. It comprised the western regions of Berlin, which were bordered by East Berlin and parts of East Germany. West Berlin consisted of the American, British, and French occupation sectors, which had been established in 1945...
  
   (1945–1990)
• American Occupation Zones in Allied Occupation Zones in Germany
  Allied Occupation Zones in Germany
  The Allied powers who defeated Nazi Germany in World War II divided the country west of the Oder-Neisse line into four occupation zones for administrative purposes during 1945–49. In the closing weeks of fighting in Europe, US forces had pushed beyond the previously agreed boundaries for the...
  
   (1945–1949)
• Allied Military Government for Occupied Territories
  Allied Military Government for Occupied Territories
  The Allied Military Government for Occupied Territories was the form of military rule administered by Allied forces during and after World War II within European territories they occupied.-Notable AMGOT:...
  
   in full force in Allied controlled sections of Italy from Invasion of Sicily in July of 1943 until the armistice with Italy in September 1943. AMGOT continued in newly liberated areas of Italy until the end of World War II. Also existed in combat zones of Allied nations such as France.
• Free Territory of Trieste
  Free Territory of Trieste
  The Free Territory of Trieste was to be a city-state situated in Central Europe between northern Italy and Yugoslavia, created by the United Nations Security Council in the aftermath of World War II and provisionally administered by an appointed military governor commanding the peacekeeping United...
  
   (1947–1954) US co-administered a portion of the Free Territory along with the UK.
• Japan
  Japan
  Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
  
   (1945–1952)
• Rhineland
  Rhineland
  Historically, the Rhinelands refers to a loosely-defined region embracing the land on either bank of the River Rhine in central Europe....
  
   (Germany) (1918–1921)
• South Korea
  South Korea
  The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
  
   (1945–1948)
• Coalition Provisional Authority
  Coalition Provisional Authority
  The Coalition Provisional Authority was established as a transitional government following the invasion of Iraq by the United States and its allies, members of the Multi-National Force – Iraq which was formed to oust the government of Saddam Hussein in 2003...
  
   Iraq
  Iraq
  Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
  
   (2003–2004)
• Green zone
  Green Zone
  The Green Zone is the most common name for the International Zone of Baghdad. It is a area of central Baghdad, Iraq, that was the governmental center of the Coalition Provisional Authority and remains the center of the international presence in the city...
  
   Iraq
  Iraq
  Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
  
   (March 20, 2003 – December 31, 2008)
• Clipperton Island
  Clipperton Island
  Clipperton Island is an uninhabited nine-square-kilometre coral atoll in the eastern Pacific Ocean, southwest of Mexico and west of Central America, at...
  
   (1944–1945), occupied territory; returned to France
  France
  The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
  
   on 23 Oct 1945

See also

• United States Minor Outlying Islands
  United States Minor Outlying Islands
  The United States Minor Outlying Islands, a statistical designation defined by the International Organization for Standardization's ISO 3166-1 code, consists of nine United States insular areas in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea: Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll,...
  
  
• Political divisions of the United States
  Political divisions of the United States
  The political units and divisions of the United States include:*The 50 states are subdivided into counties . The counties may be further subdivided into townships, or towns in New York and New England...
  
  
• Historic regions of the United States
  Historic regions of the United States
  This is a list of historic regions of the United States.-Colonial era :-The Thirteen Colonies:* Connecticut Colony* Delaware Colony* Province of Georgia* Province of Maryland...
  
  
• Organic Acts of 1845–46
• Enabling act (United States)
• Hawaiian Organic Act
  Hawaiian Organic Act
  The Hawaiian Organic Act of April 30, 1900 was a United States federal law enacted to provide a government for the territory of Hawaii.-Background:...
  
  
• Territorial Clause
• Insular Cases
  Insular Cases
  The Insular Cases are several U.S. Supreme Court cases concerning the status of territories acquired by the U.S. in the Spanish-American War . The name "insular" derives from the fact that these territories are islands and were administered by the War Department's Bureau of Insular Affairs...
  
  
• Political status of Puerto Rico
  Political status of Puerto Rico
  The current political status of Puerto Rico is the result of various political activities both within the United States and Puerto Rican governments. The basic question regarding this issue is whether Puerto Rico should remain a U.S. territory, become a U.S...
  
  

External links

• FindLaw: Downes v. Bidwell, 182 U.S. 244 (1901) regarding the distinction between incorporated and unincorporated territories
• FindLaw: People of Puerto Rico v. Shell Co., 302 U.S. 253 (1937) regarding application of U.S. law to organized but unincorporated territories
• FindLaw: United States v. Standard Oil Company, 404 U.S. 558 (1972) regarding application of U.S. law to unorganized unincorporated territories
• Television Stations in U.S. Territories
• Unincorporated Territory
• Office of Insular Affairs
• Application of the US Constitution in US Insular Areas
• Department of the Interior Definitions of Insular Area Political Organizations
• United States District Court decision addressing the distinction between Incorporated vs Unincorporated territories