Talk:Territories of the United States

Latest comment: 2 months ago by Hermes Thrice Great in topic Navassa Island = Disputed? (in Infobox, elsewhere)


Guantanamo Bay Naval Base edit

And Guantanamo Bay Naval Base?--139.47.45.89 (talk) 21:39, 11 February 2022 (UTC)Reply

No. It is not a sub-national administrative division of the U.S., it is a U.S. military base located on land leased from the Cuban government. Wtmitchell (talk) (earlier Boracay Bill) 22:01, 11 February 2022 (UTC)Reply

Ducie Island Guano claim edit

Does the United States still claim Ducie Island? MTG 152 (talk) 04:26, 10 March 2023 (UTC)Reply

According to The Sovereignty of Guano Islands in the Pacific Ocean (a 1933 review of Guano Act claims by the U.S. State Department), the claim on Ducie Island was never bonded or accepted by the U.S. government. (p. 235). —Carter (Tcr25) (talk) 15:02, 10 March 2023 (UTC)Reply

Status of the Indian Territory before it became part of the State of Oklahoma edit

Was the Indian Territory an unincorporated territory like American Samoa and the United States Virgin Islands? 2001:1308:27C2:DD00:996:1525:7AB4:8CA3 (talk) 22:29, 6 October 2023 (UTC)Reply

The distinction of incorporated / unincorporated didn't arise until far-off island territories were acquired. As such I don't think the question ever arose with regards to the continental Indian Territory. olderwiser 01:59, 7 October 2023 (UTC)Reply
The Indian Territory was part of the Louisiana Purchase, which the Supreme Court determined had been incorporated into the United States. TFD (talk) 12:48, 7 October 2023 (UTC)Reply
That is an interesting unsupported assertion. It's approximately true, geographically speaking (see [1], [2], [3], etc.). I'm no historian but, offhand, I doubt that it is true in the sense of incorporation being discussed here. Wtmitchell (talk) (earlier Boracay Bill) 13:31, 7 October 2023 (UTC)Reply
Indian Territory was a descriptive term in law for an area of land within the Louisiana Purchase, an integral/incorporated part of the USA, whose boundaries changed over a period of decades. There never was an Indian Territory established through an organic act. Therefore, Indian Territory was neither an incorporated or unincorporated territory; the land considered Indian Territory was, however, incorporated. Drdpw (talk) 15:03, 7 October 2023 (UTC)Reply
Continental territories acquired from European nations were considered as part of the US, although it was recognized that native peoples had rights to the land that were not extinguished except by treaties by the federal government with tribes. Although the concept of incorporated territory was not explicitly articulated until later, there was certainly the concept of manifest destiny with the expectation that US would expand across the North American continent. olderwiser 15:10, 7 October 2023 (UTC)Reply

Navassa Island = Disputed? (in Infobox, elsewhere) edit

In the Infobox, Navassa Island is listed under “uninhabited” territories, and not under “disputed”, yet its article mentions that it is part of an ongoing territorial dispute with Haiti.

This fact is also not mentioned in the lead, although the disputed circumstances of the two US-claimed territories administered by Colombia are.

Hermes Thrice Great (talk) 16:36, 9 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

"disputed" is poor word choice, it refers to the two territories the US does not actually administer rather than all with a dispute. That is also why they are mentioned in the lead. I've changed it to "claimed" in the infobox for clarity on this. CMD (talk) 01:55, 10 December 2023 (UTC)Reply
Sorry for the late reply—thanks for taking action on that.
Hermes Thrice Great (talk) 01:15, 30 December 2023 (UTC)Reply