U.S.A. isn't. What is it. Help please.

[H3LL]

The United States of America is what it's called, but not what it is.

Can someone help with a breakdown or point me at a good link that has the information.

To clarify:

The 50 states are not all states, I was told some are commonwealths or other entities, and Hawaii technically (I was told) still has a king, so might be a kingdom.

Plus there are protectorates like Puerto Rico. Are there others?

Are there any colonies or other similar entities under the USA umbrella?

I hope this is clear but I ask from a position ignorance only matched by an American friend who also wants to know.

Google isn't helping, so I guess I'm asking the wrong questions.

Thanks.

[ceo_esq]

Originally posted by H3LL
The 50 states are not all states, I was told some are commonwealths or other entities, and Hawaii technically (I was told) still has a king, so might be a kingdom.The fifty states are all states in the federal constitutional sense of the term. A handful of states (Virginia, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania), drawing on 18th-century political theory, decided to incorporate the title "Commonwealth" into their names. It really makes no difference. They are still states. So is Hawaii.

The term "Commonwealth", however, has a second important meaning in federal law. It is a particular kind of jurisdiction (I'm using "jurisdiction" in the territorial sense) in which a fairly highly developed relationship exists by written agreement between the jurisdiction and the United States. Two jurisdictions hold this rank: Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands. The Philippines used to be a commonwealth of the United States for a short time in the 1930s and 40s.
Originally posted by H3LL
Plus there are protectorates like Puerto Rico. Are there others?As mentioned, Puerto Rico is not a protectorate. A protectorate is generally a jurisdiction for which another power has assumed responsibility for foreign relations and territorial defense, but which has not otherwise given up sovereignty. I think the Principality of Monaco would be a good example. The United States has no protectorates in the traditional sense. The United States is the sovereign of Puerto Rico, for example.

The general technical term in U.S. law for the type of territory you have in mind is "United States insular area". (Note that the District of Columbia does not count as one, of course.) There are, at my last count, 14 of them and they include a number of technical sub-terms (such as "commonwealth"), and the rules that apply to them and their residents vary widely. Most of them are tiny islands, or groups of islands, that the average American never heard of. Some are completely uninhabited. In alphabetical order, they are:

American Samoa
Baker Island
Guam
Howland Island
Jarvis Island
Johnston Atoll
Kingman Reef
Midway Atoll
Navassa Island
Northern Mariana Islands
Palmyra Atoll
Puerto Rico
U.S. Virgin Islands
Wake Atoll
Originally posted by H3LL
Are there any colonies or other similar entities under the USA umbrella? I suppose it depends on how you define "colony or similar entity". In my experience, jurists and political scientists (whether or not American) do not ordinarily deem the United States to have any current colonies in the strict sense. It should also be noted that none of the 14 U.S. insular areas above were obtained through subjugation.

[H3LL]

Just what I needed and I can now look a little deeper and better knowing correct search criteria.

It's very much appreciated the time and effort you took to reply.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

:D

[Piscivore]

Originally posted by ceo_esq
It should also be noted that none of the 14 U.S. insular areas above were obtained through subjugation.

I thought we obtained most of those Pacific islands during WWII. Is that wrong?

[crimresearch]

We took 'em away from the Japanese, fair and square...

[Hutch]

Originally posted by Piscivore
I thought we obtained most of those Pacific islands during WWII. Is that wrong?

Well, some we had before WWII (Wake, Guam, Midway for example) and had to recapture from the Japanese. I think (and I admit I do not have the information to back this up right now) that a number of them came into US possession as a result of WWI, as they had been German-run islands (mostly coaling stations for the German Fleet and Merchant Marine) which fell to us as part of the Treaty of Versailles.

I'll try and look it up if I have the chance.

[Beady]

Originally posted by ceo_esq
The general technical term in U.S. law for the type of territory you have in mind is "United States insular area". (Note that the District of Columbia does not count as one, of course.) There are, at my last count, 14 of them and they include a number of technical sub-terms (such as "commonwealth"), and the rules that apply to them and their residents vary widely. Most of them are tiny islands, or groups of islands, that the average American never heard of. Some are completely uninhabited. In alphabetical order, they are:

Snip

Just to muddy the waters a little, Puerto Ricans are full citizens of the United States; the Marianas Islanders, however, are nationals, not citizens. The difference is pretty technical; AIUI, they carry American passports, but cannot vote in any but local elections.

[balrog666]

American Samoa, Guam and the US Virgin Islands have a Delegate to the US Congress that, like the Washington DC Delegate, are allowed to vote in the Committee of the Whole House and resident USA citizens are allowed to vote in the Presidential election directly from there (as opposed to an absentee ballot).

[Hutch]

H3ll, this site (http://www.doi.gov/oia/Firstpginfo/islandfactsheet.htm) should give you everything you want to know about the territories of the United States mentioned above by ceo_esq

[H3LL]

Thanks again for the extra info everyone and for the site link.

I've passed on all that has been mentioned and it's appreciated and he has asked me to pass on his thanks too.

Lots to keep us busy. :D

[kittynh]

And don't forget that little base we still have in Cuba!!

That's where we keep the detainees! It acutally was a fun little place where you could fly over to visit from the Puerto Rico Base (just recently closed).

[crimresearch]

Hey!! We pay our rent on Gitmo.
:p

[Beady]

Originally posted by kittynh
And don't forget that little base we still have in Cuba!!

That's where we keep the detainees! It acutally was a fun little place where you could fly over to visit from the Puerto Rico Base (just recently closed).

The weather there is actually quite lovely in January and February. I especially liked the frequent phenomenon of a small raincloud in anotherwise clear sky dumping a torrential downpour three feet away from me while I stayed warm and dry in the sun.

[Ladewig]

Originally posted by H3LL
and Hawaii technically (I was told) still has a king, so might be a kingdom.



I'm pretty sure that Hawaii does not have a technical or actual king. Do you have a credible source for this claim?

[H3LL]

Originally posted by Ladewig
I'm pretty sure that Hawaii does not have a technical or actual king. Do you have a credible source for this claim?

Absolutely none. Only the speculation of my American friend.

A quick google brought up this: http://www.freehawaii.org/unpo.html

I don't think it changes anything stated by the other posters.

I could be wrong.

[insertnamehere6]

In defining:

Nation as "a politically organized body of people under a single government."

Nationality as "the people who live in a nation or country. The status of belonging to a particular nation by birth or naturalization."

State (note the capital) as "the territory occupied by one of the constituent administrative districts of a nation."

We could define the US as a multi-cultural, multi-national nation comprised of a multi-state State.

How's that for jibberish?

Throw in all that's been added inthis thread and the concept of a true republic and, yeah, the situation gets really confusing.

To make things worse, can you have a multi-national situation without being at least diglossic?

[dann]

Denmark sold the so-called "Danish West-Indian Islands" to the USA in 1917 for 25 million US-$: http://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_dansk_vestindiske_%F8er
One of my ancestors, an Indio great-great-grandmother, came from those islands (I think), which is why I'm very non-blonde, albeit Scandinavian.

[treble_head]

I couldn't help recording a thought I had recently. Are Hawaiians considered a nationality? And if not, are they Considered Naitive Americans?

[crimresearch]

The term 'Pacific Islanders' was in vogue at one point.