Search

This provocation considers the relationship between the United States and the Arctic. America might be understood as an Arctic nation not just because of its political and resource claims in the polar region but because the nation has become both environmentally and politically inhospitable to human life. The polar regions are no longer climate outliers on the planet, remote regions exceptionally hostile to human life. The United States could do more to recognize forms of geopolitical organization that do not presume continental supremacy; that loose the "territory" from "territorial seas"; that understand the cryosphere as a model for new forms of relation and collaboration; that turn to Indigenous knowledge and traditional ecological knowledge for guidance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores through perspectives of rhetorical criticism the stories of two rivals planting their national flags in unexplored territories. Whereas the American flag on the Moon proved American technological superiority over the U.S.S.R.'s, the Russian flag in the Arctic can be seen as a political move by President Putin to recreate the lost grandeur of the Soviet Union and reenact the Cold War to revive his political support at home. By doing so and recording their exploits, the two actors created national narratives that go beyond the simple performance of erecting a flag; these images construct an affectual nationalist identity through elites' performance of flag planting, and mass media's staging of these political events as a "spectacle." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article argues that the current legal framework for territories such as Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands is outdated and perpetuates inequality. The author proposes a new framework that recognizes the diversity of territories and offers practical solutions to improve the lives of those living in them. It mentions the Supreme Court decision in United States v. Vaello Madero case including, proposed framework which aims to move beyond the traditional State and Territory model.

The Insular Cases split the Territorial Clause atom by formally distinguishing, for the first time, between so-called incorporated and un-incorporated territories. The former was the "classical" definition of the Clause; the latter constituted a doctrinal innovation that did not imply the start of the annexation process. Balzac v. Porto Rico reinforced the distinction and made clear that un-incorporation could be a permanent condition. Recently, the Supreme Court announced a series of decisions regarding the territories, particularly Puerto Rico, that do not mention the incorporated/un-incorporated distinction--refering to "territories" in general, without any additional characterization. This paper analyzes the journey of the Territorial Clause from its singular, classic, incorporated version, through its split into two distinct categories (classic and new) in the Insular Cases and Balzac, to its present form as a singular, un-incorporated version that appears to silently replace the classic version. The possibility of a populated territory remaining in permanent limbo signals that current U.S. law views colonialism as constitutionally valid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article draws on the case of the Mariana Islands, the site of two U.S. territories – Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) – to examine the development and implementation of federal immigration laws in U.S. territories. While such laws have been enforced in Guam since the early 1950s, this has only been the case in the CNMI since 2008. I show how federal legislation has evolved over time to regulate migration from Asia and neighboring Pacific Island nations, leading to the development of a range of precarious, liminal immigration statuses to meet military, tourism, and manufacturing needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the doctrine of territorial incorporation and the unintended consequences from judicially extending constitutional citizenship in the U.S. Topics discussed are validity of the Insular Cases while shifting to protect local culture, status of territorial citizenship, the jus solis argument, right to citizenship as a means that binds the Union as demonstrated in Fitisemanu v. U.S. and as an extension of the 14th Amendment, and association as an alternative to the status quo.

The author replies to historian Paul Kramer's criticism of his argument that historians should consider all land under U.S. jurisdiction as part of the U.S. and therefore as part of its history. Topics discussed include Kramer's objection to the concept of the Greater U.S., the importance and centrality of territorial empire, and the desire to incorporate scholarship on overseas territory into mainstream U.S. history. Also mentioned are Kramer's book "The Blood of Government," the debates about African-American history, and the significance of scholarly work on the ways the U.S. has controlled land and people beyond its mainland.

Copyright of IBEROAMERICANA. América Latina - España - Portugal is the property of Vervuert Verlag and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Following the Spanish-American War of 1898, the United States invented a new tradition of territorial expansionism with a corresponding constitutional doctrine to rule Puerto Rico and other unincorporated territories. For more than a century, the United States has relied on this racist constitutional interpretation to legitimate the separate and unequal rule of Puerto Rico. Drawing on an analysis of the Congressional Research Index for all legislative sessions between 1898 and 2018, this note describes all the territorial government and incorporation bills introduced in Congress throughout this period. Although upward of 134 status bills for Puerto Rico were introduced, and in some cases debated, in Congress, only eleven provide for the creation of a territorial government or the incorporation of Puerto Rico. All but one of these bills were introduced prior to the enactment of the Puerto Rican Constitution of 1952. For more than a century, Congress has refused to enact territorial legislation that expressly incorporates Puerto Rico and repudiates the racist doctrine of territorial incorporation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The association between and among climate change, preparation, and perceptions on islands is becoming more commonplace--but what about on extraterritorial land governed from thousands of miles away? This article consists of on-the-ground fieldwork and interviews speaking with decision-makers and leadership personnel in American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands on the following topics: how climate change is addressed, what the general attitude on-island is towards climate change, if islands' proximities to independent countries affect the territories' preparation, and if being a part of the United States is considered an asset in planning for climate change. The results from the study show that up until very recently, climate change was not readily discussed, and, when it had been, it was often only discussed with concern for ocean life. Additionally, respondents lamented that often their non-US neighbours were able to better prepare, but US territories were either outright excluded due to their tertiary sovereignties or due to lack of representation from the Federal Government at meetings. Research herein illustrates that being a territory of the United States was considered an asset in many respects due to the hypothetical protection and funding available in the event of major disaster. An emerging theme from the study is that the American territories in the Pacific sit within the margins and periphery of climate-change planning within the United States and are behind many of their neighbours in both their perceptions and preparation efforts of the effects of a changing climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the history of Puerto Rican politics in association with international law and relations as of 2017, and it mentions the removal of Puerto Rico from the United Nations' (U.N.'s) list of Non-Self Governing Territories in 1953, American territories, and the claim that Puerto Rico does not meet the U.N. standards for self-governance. A commonwealth relationship between the United States and Puerto Rico is examined, along with self-determination.

This essay assesses clinical photographs of leprosy patients created by the Hawai'i Board of Health in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, or what may be the most extensive visual cataloging of indigenous, Asian, and immigrant bodies in America's Pacific empire. Building on theoretical and methodological approaches to archives as a process rather than a source, I follow the trail of these clinical images through time and space, from their emergence within a photographic practice of medical management and segregation in Hawai'i to their prolific circulation in transnational political and medical arenas. Offering spectacular evidence of the racialized and sexualized pathology of colonial peoples, these photographs were tightly regulated but increasingly viewed as clinical erotica after the United States incorporated Hawai'i as a territory in 1900. The essay further suggests the "affective excess" that can disrupt the photograph's medical surveillance, as social intimacies and care between Hawaiian patients bloom within the frame. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1917 the United States Congress imposed citizenship on the inhabitants of Puerto Rico. It was a contingent citizenship subject to legal redefinition and tailored to Puerto Rico's colonial status within the U.S. empire. Many scholars have argued that racism was determinative in the decision to consign Puerto Ricans a diminished citizenship. But it is necessary to point out that the U.S. had crafted an adaptive racial narrative that distinguished among racialized people under its sovereignty in terms of their capacities for self-government and ability to comprehend Anglo-Saxon political and legal institutions. Moreover, in addition to racism, strategic considerations and territorial policies and legal precedents figured prominently in the decision to impose an unprecedented citizenship status on Puerto Ricans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Absent the 1917 Jones Act, would people born in Puerto Rico today be U.S. citizens? The Supreme Court has yet to provide a definitive answer to this question. But it may be presented the opportunity to do so as the result of legal challenges to federal laws that deny recognition of citizenship to individuals born in the U.S. territory of American Samoa. The status of people born in American Samoa today has parallels to the status of Puerto Ricans prior to the 1917 Jones Act: neither citizens nor aliens. This article argues that the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees birthright citizenship throughout the territorial sovereignty of the United States: States, Territories, and the District of Columbia alike. Congress has no power to deny citizenship to people born in Puerto Rico, American Samoa, or any other U.S. territory. Resolving the question of citizenship in U.S. territories may also provide the Supreme Court an opportunity to finally reconsider the Insular Cases and their controversial doctrine of "separate and unequal" status for residents of so-called "unincorporated" U.S. territories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Arctic policies of the United States, Canada, and Russia have received considerable attention on the international stage in recent years, although engagement by these states with the region extends through many eras. Overlooked in analyses of Arctic policy and practice in the region are the messages communicated through postage stamps, noted in their importance as transmitters of government messages, as these states emphasize claims to sovereignty and the resources of the region. These Arctic states have issued a number of stamps depicting the Arctic throughout their engagement with the region, long before any formal policy documents were issued addressing contemporary geostrategic concerns. This article surveys all Arctic postage stamps issued by these three states and analyzes their messages for correlation with official Arctic policy in several periods, concluding that there is substantial relationship between the issued stamps and the practice and policy of these Arctic states as they demonstrate their effective occupation of the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethnic minorities rely on news outlets to promote their causes. Nevertheless, human rights issues about United States territories are seldom addressed in national news media. This qualitative content analysis of news stories about the campaign for release for Puerto Rican political prisoner Óscar López Rivera studies the portrayal of this domestic human right issue in elite and local Spanish language news media. This case study revealed that coverage about Puerto Rico in national media showcases culture and entertainment, as well as sports topics. However, they showed lack of interest in the human rights issues of US territories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the author's views on the Pacific Region as an important aspect of American studies, highlighting the connection between Native Pacific studies and American studies. He explores the syllabus for a course that he teaches at Wesleyan University to illustrate several ways that American studies and Native Pacific studies can be engaged productively. Also discussed are indigenous peoples' resistance to U.S. colonization, Hawaiians' colonial histography, and American imperialism.

The article presents the author's views on the American Empire, highlighting the connection between Pacific studies and Native American studies. The American Empire reportedly includes American Samoa and Puerto Rico which makes the U.S. the largest overseas territorial power worldwide. Also discussed are the principles and processes of territoriality, settler colonialism, and Pacific maritime territorialism.

An essay is presented on Guåhan (Guam) as a site wherein studies can deal with militarism to the U.S.' constitution of imperial identities and power, highlighting the efforts to protect and defend Pågat that is sacred to the native people, Chamorus. Guam's history is explored which is an unincorporated and organized territory of the U.S. Also discussed are Chamorus' efforts to stop the U.S. from building a firing range at Pågat and American imperialism.

The article explores the U.S. justice system and administration for Pacific island territories including Guam and the Northern Marianas. Topics include the judicial and policy-making roles for the U.S.'s remote territories, establishment of the Pacific Islands Committee due to the work of the Ninth Circuit's Chief Judge Richard Chambers, and appellate jurisdiction. Other topics include the Federated States of Micronesia, American Samoa, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and court structure.

The article discusses the role of New York City in developing movements supporting both sides of imperialism and colonization, focusing on ideas of Puerto Rican writer Giannina Braschi in her books "Empire of Dreams" and "United States of Banana." Other topics include literary representation of gender dysfunction in New York, colonial-imperial relations in the the Americas, and the status of Puerto Rico vis-à-vis the U.S.

The article explores the history of the incorporation of Puerto Rico which earned a place in the U.S. territory. It states that 400,000 Puerto Ricans have served in the U.S. military and have emerged to the highest levels of American society. It notes that the sacrifices made by Puerto Ricans in the past century had resulted into significant integration of the island into American society.

Following the Spanish-American War of 1898, the USA became a true, European-style imperial power, with overseas colonies populated by diverse peoples with few - if any - connections to American culture and history. The wide-ranging imperial debate that followed 1898 brought two future US presidents firmly to the fore: the New York politician and war hero, Theodore Roosevelt, and the Ohio judge, William H. Taft. This article explores the complex development of these two politicians' views on the Philippines during this period of imperial rule. Roosevelt began the period as an ardent imperialist and changed his views to reflect a change in US public opinion and strategic concerns. Conversely, Taft began by being a sceptic about US imperialism but ultimately became one of the most ardent retentionists. This article not only charts their paths to convergence and then their subsequent divergence in attitude towards Philippines policy, but also brings to light the much underestimated role that Taft played in keeping Roosevelt from moving the Republican Party away from its policy of retaining control of the islands. Although many historians see Taft as a loyal servant of Roosevelt's vision for the USA prior to 1909, this article argues that, when it came to the Philippines, Taft was actually the key driver of US policy throughout this period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Demand is growing for a statistically based, nationally consistent definition of frontier territory, one that is adjustable within a reasonable range and applicable in different research and policy contexts. The need arises from Congressional mandates affecting rural health programs and from limitations of previous classification schemes. As used here, the term frontier denotes territory characterized by some combination of relatively low-population density and high geographic remoteness. Two features distinguish the methodology described here from earlier classifications. First, the approach strives for the most accurate measures of distance possible for the smallest units of geography containing population data. Travel time by car to nearby urban areas is calculated for coterminous US territory at the 1 × 1 kilometer grid level. Once frontier territory is delimited at the grid level, frontier populations may be summed to ZIP code areas, as demonstrated on the Main Map, or to census tracts, counties, or other useful geographic entities. Second, travel-time thresholds around urban areas were allowed to vary by urban-area population size. This is desirable because the effect of urban population size on adjacent rural population density is discontinuous. At any given distance from an urban area, population density increases as the size of the nearby urban area increases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From the images of allegories and unknown geographies, the representation of the American territory is made in an overlapped form with the body in a particular type of erotic-politics. The case of the representation of the Villa Imperial de Potosí is paradigmatic in this subject as it generated an iconography that passed from the representation of its hill like generator of structures class/ race to its union with the virgin. Here two works of the city built in the first half of the 18th century are studied -after the decay of the economy of one of the greatest cities of the world at that time - that in addition are found in Spanish public collections, to try at the time how this dimension of unit between body and territory articulates within them. To finish, some expositive contexts are shown in which the same ones have been presented and possible alternatives to think the curatorial activation and criticism of these images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the political debate over the secession of southern U.S. states, slave laws and the extension of slavery to U.S. territories in pre-Civil War Indiana. Particular focus is given to "radical Republican" Congressmen and lawyer Charles Case and his efforts to prevent the extension of slavery to U.S. western territories, his defense of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and his exposing of U.S. President James Buchanan's corruption. The political debate between Indiana Democrats and Republicans over the Kansas-Nebraska Act is also presented.

The article examines the possible presence of ethnic bloc voting, or voting solely for candidates of one's own ethnicity, in Hawaiian politics. Emphasis is given to an analysis of the historical voting patterns of Hawai'i's Chinese population, including voter turnout rates. Therefore, the author is broadly concerned with the relationship between ethnic identity and political affiliation in the the Hawaiian Islands. As an example, the author discusses the political campaigns, both successful and unsuccessful, of Chinese Hawaiian politician James K. Kealoha and his election to the Hawaiian Territorial House of Representatives in 1934 and various local government positions.

The article explores the evolution of the three distinct phases of the U.S. territorial system which include incorporated territories, unincorporated territories and UN Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. Issues such as taxes, trade, wages and immigration control brought up to the U.S. Congress by these territories are discussed. The inconsistencies in economic reform hinder the economic and political growth of these territories. It cites that American Samoa is at risk of losing its economy in the next five years.

National parks form an archipelago of government-run, on-site “museums,” geographic sites of territorial and rhetorical nation-building. The War in the Pacific National Historical Park, which occupies seven parcels of land on the small island of Guam, celebrates the “freedom” that the U.S. brought to the region in World War II. But in fact, this landscape sits at the nexus of several contested territories. Guam was seized in the 1898 Spanish–American War—the final wave of American territorial expansion—and experienced 50 years of dictatorship under the U.S. Navy, despite vigorous efforts by islanders to gain citizenship and basic rights. The post-war transformation of the island by the military came at the further expense of local land rights, and the park itself later got caught up in the struggle over federal land ownership. Disagreements within the park service and between the park service and the local people added to the contests. Finally and most importantly, the park-as-text presents a discourse of American military heroism against the Japanese, at the expense of recognition of Chamorro suffering, or of any historical marker tying the indigenous history of Guam into U.S. historical memory. The contradiction between U.S. expansionism and U.S. ideals is apparent in the way the park serves as a colonial tool in this remnant of the American empire. This paper examines the park as a narrative landscape within the fields of contestation that characterize U.S. rule on Guam. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article presents a perspective on the Mexican Revolution of 1910-1920 in relation to the border policy of the U.S. According to the author, the revolution ended the status quo that described the diplomatic relations of Mexico with the U.S. during the reign of Porfirio Díaz. In 1911, U.S. President William H. Taft implemented policies on the border region that aimed to prevent subversive actions from starting in U.S. territory. The second phase of the revolution broke out after the murder of Mexican President Francisco I. Madero. Based on Mexicanist historiography, the refugees and exiles of the Maderist era camped on the U.S. border like what the revolutionaries did.

The present work focuses on the formation of a specialized lexicon in the XV, XVI and XVII centuries, when Spaniards encountered the Nova Realia. The particular characteristics of Canary Island plant names — the wealth, depth of knowledge and diverse origins and etymology – make this lexicon suitable material from which to draw general conclusions which may be applicable to other specialised lexicons with similar characteristics. Above all, it allows us to establish certain rules and to understand some of the processes that could have occurred during the same period in the American territories, where the sheer territorial size and diversity render a detailed analysis of this type almost impossible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article shows that the ambiguity of the relationship of Guántanamo, Cuba to the United States is the legacy of the Insular Cases, wherein the Supreme Court ruled in several cases beginning in 1901 that the U.S. could rule over distant territories and peoples with impunity and without constitutional restraint. Gives the many debates about the balance between national security and civil liberties, the rights of the prisoners, the extent of U.S. legal jurisdiction and the question of national sovereignty and some of the history of the United States' claim about Guánamo.

This article shows how American imperialism has consisted efforts to impose limits upon territorial expansion and what the association of imperialism with the expansion of territory is and the projection of power and the imposition of sovereignty. Use of the history of the American Guano Islands shows the wide range of legal practices of boundary management that attended territorial expansion.

Examines the use of a World Court Chamber to resolve a boundary conflict between the United States (U.S.) and Canada in the Gulf of Maine. Background on the natural resource conflict; Strategy enacted by the U.S. for adapting to legal and political audiences; Argument related to socio-economics raised by Canada.