Intro & D.C.
The United States of America is often considered the 48 contiguous states, plus Alaska and Hawaii. People focused so much on the states they wrote books about, videos, and lectures about them. However, no one thought of bringing up the other parts of America, which made America an empire. The first of these is Washington, D.C., the nation’s capital. The capital city of America can send representatives to Congress, but they can’t vote for anything. Instead, Congress gets the final say. That did not matter when the area was a marsh with a few cherry trees. Still, it is weird because Washington has more population than Vermont and Wyoming.
Reservations
American Indian reservations are a highly complex topic. But, to oversimplify it, they are independent while still being governed by the U.S. They are kind of part of the states, with the states treating them like foreign nations while not issuing passports and not (in general) controlling their relations with the Department of State.
Islands (Part 1)
After the U.S. ran out of land, they turned to islands. The first island they got was Porto Rico in the Spanish-American War. Porto Rico is an organized but unincorporated territory. This means that it is self-governing (mostly) and that the Constitution does not apply (automatically). However, 3.7 million people live on the island (more than 21 states), and the U.S. treats it as a state. But there are more organized, unincorporated territories; they are:
- Porto Rico
- Guam
- North Mariana Islands
- U.S. Virgin Islands
All of the people in these territories are American citizens, and America treats them like Washington, D.C.
Islands (Part 2)
Along with organized, unincorporated territories, there are unorganized, unincorporated territories. This means that the Constitution does not apply (automatically) and that America directly owned them. They are:
- Howland Island
- Navassa Island
- Wake Island
- Jarvis Island
- Baker Island
- Johnston Atoll
- Kingman Reef
- Midway Islands
- Serranilla Bank
- Bajo Nuevo Bank
Most of these islands were acquired because of the Guano Islands Act, which said that for every island that has a lot of bird poop, America owns it. Also, some of these islands are barely above the water line. The last category is unorganized, incorporated territories. This means that America directly owns them, which the Constitution applies to. This category is occupied by the Palmyra Atoll, which no one lives on. This is strange because if no one lives there, does the Constitution apply? Yes. If someone arrives there and is not killed, they will be under the Constitution.
