View source for U.S. territorial sovereignty

{{Short description|Territory under the US jurisdiction}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2025}}
In the United States, a territory is any extent of region under the [[sovereignty|sovereign]] [[jurisdiction]] of the [[federal government of the United States]],<ref name="hurd">{{cite book |last1= Hurd|first1= John C.|title= The Law of Freedom and Bondage in the United States|url=https://archive.org/details/lawfreedombondag01hurdrich|year= 1968|orig-year= 1858|publisher= Negro Universities Press|location= New York|pages= 438–439|oclc=10955}}</ref> including all waters (around islands or continental tracts). The United States asserts sovereign rights for exploring, exploiting, conserving, and managing its territory.<ref>{{cite book |title= Exclusive Economic Zone Claims: An Analysis and Primary Documents|last= Smith|first= Robert W.|year= 1986|publisher= M. Nijhoff|location= Hingham, Mass.|isbn=90-247-3250-6|page= 467|oclc=424143523}}</ref> This extent of [[territory (country subdivision)|territory]] is all the area belonging to, and under the dominion of, the United States federal government (which includes tracts lying at a distance from the [[country]]) for administrative and other purposes.<ref name="hurd" /> The United States total territory includes a subset of [[political divisions of the United States|political divisions]].

==Territory of the United States==
The United States' territory includes any geography under the control of the United States [[Federal government of the United States|federal government]]. Various [[region]]s, [[district]]s, and [[Division (political geography)|division]]s are under the supervision of the United States federal government. The United States' territory includes clearly defined [[geographical area]] and refers to an area of land, [[air]], or [[sea]] under jurisdiction of United States federal governmental authority (but is not limited only to these areas). The extent of territory is all the area belonging to, and under the dominion of, the United States of America federal government (which includes [[Lot (real estate)|tract]]s lying at a distance from the [[country]]) for [[Public administration|administrative]] and other purposes.

===Constitution of the United States===
[[File:Constitution of the United States, page 1.jpg|thumb|Original copy of the [[Constitution]]]]
Under [[Article Four of the United States Constitution|Article IV of the U.S. Constitution]], a territory is subject to and belongs to the United States (but not necessarily within the national boundaries or any individual state). This includes tracts of land or water not included within the limits of any State and not admitted as a State into the Union.

The Constitution of the United States states:
{{Blockquote|The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to Prejudice any Claims of the United States, or of any particular State.|[[Article Four of the United States Constitution|Article IV]]| [[United States Constitution]]}}

=== Congress of the United States ===
Congress possesses power to set territorial governments within the boundaries of the United States, under [[Article Four of the United States Constitution#Section 3: New states and federal property|Article 4, Section 3]] of the U.S. Constitution. The first exercise of this power was the [[Northwest Ordinance]] of 1789. The power of Congress over such territory is [[political authority|exclusive]] and [[political authority|universal]], including the creation of [[political division]]s, except as delegated to a territory's government by act of Congress.

===Supreme Court of the United States===
All territory under the control of the federal government is considered part of the "United States" for purposes of law.<ref>See 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(36) and 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(38) Providing the term "State" and "United States" definitions on the U.S. Federal Code, Immigration and Nationality Act. {{USC|8|1101a}}</ref>  From 1901 to 1905, the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] in a series of opinions known as the [[Insular Cases]] 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 the same, the Constitution only applied fully in incorporated territories such as [[Territory of Alaska|Alaska]] and [[Territory of Hawaii|Hawaii]], whereas it only applied partially in the new unincorporated territories of [[Puerto Rico]], [[Guam]] and the [[Philippines]].<ref name="puertoricoadvancement.org">{{Citation|url=http://puertoricoadvancement.org/Documents/Consejo%20De%20Salud%20Playa%20De%20Ponce%20V.%20Johnny%20Rullan%20-%20Secretary%20of%20Health%20of%20the%20Commonwealth%20of%20Puerto%20Rico.pdf |title=CONSEJO DE SALUD PLAYA DE PONCE v JOHNNY RULLAN, SECRETARY OF HEALTH OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF PUERTO RICO Page 6 and 7 |publisher=The United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico |access-date=February 4, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510095936/http://puertoricoadvancement.org/Documents/Consejo%20De%20Salud%20Playa%20De%20Ponce%20V.%20Johnny%20Rullan%20-%20Secretary%20of%20Health%20of%20the%20Commonwealth%20of%20Puerto%20Rico.pdf |archive-date=May 10, 2011 }}.</ref><ref>{{Citation|url=http://www.law.upenn.edu/journals/jil/articles/volume29/issue2/Torruella29U.Pa.J.Int%27lL.283%282007%29.pdf|title=The Insular Cases: The Establishment of a Regime of Political Apartheid" (2007) Juan R. Torruella|access-date=February 5, 2010|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304200752/https://www.law.upenn.edu/journals/jil/articles/volume29/issue2/Torruella29U.Pa.J.Int%27lL.283%282007%29.pdf|url-status=dead}}.</ref> A [[United States Supreme Court|Supreme Court]] ruling from 1945 stated that the term "United States" can have three different meanings, in different contexts:
{{Blockquote|The term "United States" may be used in any one of several senses. It may be merely the name of a sovereign occupying the position analogous to that of other sovereigns in the family of nations. It may designate the territory over which the sovereignty of the United States extends, or it may be the collective name of the states which are united by and under the Constitution.
|''[[Hooven & Allison Co. v. Evatt]]''|{{ussc|324|652|1945}}}}

===United States Department of the Interior===

The [[United States Department of the Interior]] is charged with managing federal affairs within U.S. territory.<ref>{{cite book |title= A History and Analysis of the Constitution of the United States|last= Towle|first= Nathaniel C.|year= 1861|publisher= Little, Brown|location=Boston|pages= [https://archive.org/details/historyanalysiso00towluoft/page/384 384]–385|url=https://archive.org/details/historyanalysiso00towluoft|oclc=60723860}}</ref> The Interior Department has a wide range of responsibilities (which include the regulation of territorial governments and the basic stewardship for public lands, et al.). The United States Department of the Interior is not responsible for local government or for civil administration except in the cases of Indian reservations, through the [[Bureau of Indian Affairs]], as well as those territories administered through the [[Office of Insular Affairs]].  The exception is the "incorporated and unorganized" (see below) [[Palmyra Atoll|United States Territory of Palmyra Island]], the legal remnant of the former [[Territory of Hawaii|United States Territory of Hawaii]] since 1959,<ref>{{cite web|title = GAO/OGC-98-5 – U.S. Insular Areas: Application of the U.S. Constitution; Appendix II:0.3, footnote 22 | date = November 7, 1997|url= http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/GAOREPORTS-OGC-98-5/content-detail.html|publisher= U.S. Government Printing Office |access-date=September 6, 2016}}</ref> in which the local government and civil administration were assigned by the [[United States Secretary of the Interior|Secretary of the Interior]] to the [[Fish and Wildlife Service]] in 2001.<ref>Secretary of the Interior Order No. 3224, January 18, 2001.</ref>

==United States divisions==
{{Main article|Political divisions of the United States}}

===States, territories, and their subdivisions===
The [[contiguous United States]], [[Hawaii]], and [[Alaska]] are [[Political divisions of the United States|divided into smaller administrative regions]].  These are called [[County (United States)|counties]] in 48 of the 50 states, [[borough (Alaska)|borough]]s in Alaska and [[parish (Louisiana)|parish]]es in [[Louisiana]]. A county can include a number of [[city|cities]] and [[Town#United States|towns]], or just a portion of either type. These counties have varying degrees of political and legal significance. A [[township (U.S.)|township]] in the United States refers to a small geographic area. The term is used in two ways: a [[survey township]] is simply a geographic reference used to define property location for deeds and grants; a [[civil township]] is a unit of local government, originally rural in application.

The [[Washington, D.C.|District of Columbia]] and territories are under the direct authority of Congress, although each is allowed home rule.<ref>{{cite web |title= District of Columbia Home Rule Act |url= http://www.abfa.com/ogc/hract.htm#102|date= November 19, 1997|publisher=abfa.com |access-date=September 11, 2009}}</ref> The United States government, rather than individual states or territories, conducts [[Foreign policy|foreign relations]] under the U.S. Constitution.

[[Federal enclave]]s, such as domestic military bases and national parks, are administered directly by the federal government.  To varying degrees, the federal government exercises [[concurrent jurisdiction]] with the states where federal land is part of the territory previously granted to a state.

===History of United States territory===
{{Main article|Historic regions of the United States|Territorial evolution of the United States}}
At times, territories are organized with a separate legislature, under a territorial governor and officers, appointed by the President and approved by the Senate of the United States. A territory has been historically divided into [[organized territory|organized territories]] and [[Territories of the United States#Orangized vs. unorganized territories|unorganized territories]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Berg-Andersson |first=Richard E.|title=Official Name and Status History of the several States and U.S. Territories|url= http://www.thegreenpapers.com/slg/statehood.phtml|date=July 14, 2008|publisher=The Green Papers|access-date=September 12, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Indian Land Cessions in the United States, 1784–1894|url=http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lwss-ilc.html |year=2009|publisher=The Library of Congress|access-date=September 12, 2009}}</ref> An unorganized territory was generally either unpopulated or set aside for [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]] and other [[indigenous peoples in the United States]] by the U.S. federal government, until such time as the growing and restless population encroached into the areas. In recent times, "unorganized" refers to the degree of self-governmental authority exercised by the territory.

As a result of several [[U.S. Supreme Court|Supreme Court]] cases after the [[Spanish–American War]], the United States had to determine how to deal with its newly acquired territories, such as the [[Philippines]],<ref name="uslc-16">{{cite web|title=Philippines&nbsp;– United States Rule|url=http://countrystudies.us/philippines/16.htm|publisher=U.S. Library of Congress|access-date=August 22, 2006}}</ref><ref name="uslc-17">{{cite web|title=Philippines&nbsp;– A Collaborative Philippine Leadership|url=http://countrystudies.us/philippines/17.htm|publisher=U.S. Library of Congress|access-date=August 22, 2006}}</ref> [[Puerto Rico]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/diplomacy/spain/sp1898.htm |title=Treaty of Paris (1898) |access-date=September 23, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071106085941/http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/diplomacy/spain/sp1898.htm |archive-date=November 6, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Guam]],<ref>Paul Carano and Pedro C. Sanchez, A Complete History of Guam (Rutland, VT: C. E. Tuttle, 1964)</ref><ref>[[Howard P. Willens]] and [[Dirk Ballendorf]], The Secret Guam Study: How President Ford's 1975 Approval of Commonwealth Was Blocked by Federal Officials (Mangilao, Guam: Micronesian Area Research Center; Saipan: Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Division of Historical Preservation, 2004)</ref> [[Wake Island]], and other areas that were not part of the North American continent and which were not necessarily intended to become a part of the Union of States. As a consequence of the Supreme Court decisions, the United States has since made a distinction between [[incorporated territory|incorporated]] and [[unincorporated territory|unincorporated territories]].<ref>[http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=182&invol=244 FindLaw: ''Downes v. Bidwell'', 182 U.S. 244 (1901)] regarding the distinction between incorporated and unincorporated territories</ref><ref>[http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=us&vol=302&invol=253 FindLaw: ''People of Puerto Rico v. Shell Co.'', 302 U.S. 253 (1937)] regarding application of U.S. law to organized but unincorporated territories</ref><ref>[http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=us&vol=404&invol=558 FindLaw: ''United States v. Standard Oil Company'', 404 U.S. 558 (1972)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070911060058/http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=us&vol=404&invol=558 |date=2007-09-11 }} regarding application of U.S. law to unorganized unincorporated territories</ref> In essence, an incorporated territory is land that has been irrevocably incorporated within the sovereignty of the United States and to which the full corpus of the U.S. Constitution applies. An unincorporated territory is land held by the United States, and to which [[Congress of the United States]] applies selected parts of the constitution. At the present time, the only incorporated U.S. territory is the unorganized (and unpopulated) [[Palmyra Atoll]].

{{Gallery
|title=
|width=165
|File:United_States_land_claims_and_cessions_1782-1802.png|State land claims and cessions to the federal government (1782–1802)
|File:Territorial-acquisition-uscensus-bureau.jpg|Admission of states and territorial acquisition, U.S. Bureau of the Census
|File:U.S. Territorial Acquisitions.png|Territorial acquisitions of the United States
|File:United States 1959-08-present.png|States and incorporated territories of the United States, August 21, 1959, to present
}}

===Insular areas===
[[File:US insular areas.svg|775px|thumb|right|Locations of the insular areas of the United States, color-coded to indicate status
{{Legend|#336733|The [[U.S. state|50 states]] and the [[Washington, D.C.|District of Columbia]]}}
{{Legend|#C000C0|Incorporated, unorganized territory}}
{{legend|#FF9933|Unincorporated territory with Commonwealth status}}
{{legend|#000080|Unincorporated, organized territory}}
{{legend|#FF8080|Unincorporated, unorganized territory}}]]
{{Main article|Insular area|Territories of the United States}}
The United States currently claims 16 insular areas as territories:
*[[American Samoa]]
*[[Guam]]
*[[Northern Mariana Islands]]
*[[Puerto Rico]]
*[[United States Virgin Islands]]
*[[United States Minor Outlying Islands|Minor Outlying Islands]]
**''[[Bajo Nuevo Bank]]''
**[[Baker Island]]
**[[Howland Island]]
**[[Jarvis Island]]
**[[Johnston Atoll]]
**[[Kingman Reef]]
**[[Midway Islands]]
**[[Navassa Island]]
**[[Palmyra Atoll]]
**''[[Serranilla Bank]]''
**[[Wake Island]]
:The italicized islands are part of a territory dispute with [[Colombia]] and are not included in the ISO designation of the USMOI. The United States does not administer these two territories.

Palmyra Atoll is the only ''incorporated territory'' remaining, and having no government it is also ''unorganized''. The remaining are [[unincorporated territories of the United States]].  Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands are styled as [[Commonwealth (U.S. insular area)|commonwealths]].

===Dependent areas===
<!-- This section is linked from [[Unlawful combatant]] -->
{{Main article|Insular area}}
Several islands in the [[Pacific Ocean]] and [[Caribbean Sea]] are [[dependent territory|dependent territories]] of the United States.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.doi.gov/oia/Firstpginfo/islandfactsheet.htm |title=Office of Insular Affairs |access-date=June 17, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070617145659/http://www.doi.gov/oia/Firstpginfo/islandfactsheet.htm |archive-date=June 17, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>[http://www.doi.gov/oia/Islandpages/political_types.htm Department of the Interior Definitions of Insular Area Political Types] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721034923/http://www.doi.gov/oia/Islandpages/political_types.htm |date=July 21, 2011 }}</ref>

The [[Guantanamo Bay Naval Base]], [[Guantánamo Bay, Cuba|Guantanamo Bay]], notionally under the sovereignty of [[Cuba]], is administered by the United States under a perpetual lease, much as the Panama Canal Zone used to be before the signing of the [[Torrijos–Carter Treaties]]. Only mutual agreement or U.S. abandonment of the area can terminate the lease.

From July 8, 1947, until October 1, 1994, the United States administered the [[Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands]], but the Trust ceased to exist when the last member state of Palau gained its independence to become the [[Republic of Palau]]. The [[Panama Canal]], and the [[Panama Canal Zone|Canal Zone]] surrounding it, was territory administered by the United States until 1999, when control was relinquished to [[Panama]].

The United States has made no territorial claim in [[Antarctica]] but has reserved the right to do so. American [[research stations in Antarctica]]—[[Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station]], [[McMurdo Station]], and [[Palmer Station]]—are under U.S. jurisdiction but are held without sovereignty per the [[Antarctic Treaty System|Antarctic Treaty]].

The three Freely Associated States of [[Federated States of Micronesia]], [[Republic of the Marshall Islands]], and the [[Republic of Palau]] are not under U.S. sovereignty, but each participates in federal programs under a [[Compact of Free Association]].

==Maritime territory of the United States==<!-- other pages link to this section, if you change the heading please create {{anchor}} for the old title -->

The government of the United States of America has claims to the oceans in accord with the [[United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea]], which delineates a zone of territory adjacent to territorial lands and seas. United States protects this [[Marine (ocean)|marine environment]], though not interfering with other lawful [[Baseline (sea)|uses of this zone]]. The United States' jurisdiction has been established on vessels, ships, and [[artificial islands]] (along with other marine structures).

In 1983 President [[Ronald Reagan]], through Proclamation No. 5030, claimed a 200-mile [[exclusive economic zone]]. In December 1988, President Reagan, through Proclamation No. 5928, extended U.S. [[territorial waters]] from three nautical miles to twelve nautical miles for national security purposes. However a legal opinion from the Justice Department questioned the President's constitutional authority to extend sovereignty as Congress has the power to make laws concerning the territory belonging to the United States under the U.S. Constitution. In any event, Congress needs to make laws defining if the extended waters, including oil and mineral rights, are under state or federal control.<ref name=nyt-19881229>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/12/29/us/reagan-extends-territorial-waters-to-12-miles.html |title=Reagan Extends Territorial Waters to 12 Miles |author=Andrew Rosenthal |newspaper=New York Times |date=December 29, 1988 |access-date=July 23, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=http://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1362&context=ilj |title=U.S. Territorial Sea Extension: Jurisdiction and International Environmental Protection |author=Carol Elizabeth Remy |journal=Fordham International Law Journal |year=1992 |volume=16 |issue=4 |pages=1208–1252 |access-date=July 23, 2014}}</ref>

The primary enforcer of maritime law is the [[United States Coast Guard|U.S. Coast Guard]]. Federal and state governments share economic and regulatory jurisdiction over the waters owned by the country. (See [[tidelands]].)
{{wide image|Territorial waters - United States.svg|800px|The [[Exclusive economic zone#United States|exclusive economic zone]]s of the United States|alt=The [[Exclusive Economic Zone]]s of the United States}}

==International law==
The United States is not restricted from making laws governing its own territory by [[international law]]. United States territory can include [[occupied territory]], which is a geographic area that claims [[sovereignty]], but is being [[Force (law)|forcibly]] [[wiktionary:subjugate|subjugate]]d to the authority of the United States of America. United States territory can also include [[disputed territory]], which is a geographic area claimed by the United States of America and one (or more) rival governments.

Under the [[Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907]], United States territory can include areas occupied by and controlled by the [[United States Armed Forces]]. When de facto military control is maintained and exercised, occupation (and thus possession) extends to that territory. Military personnel in control of the territory have a responsibility to provide for the basic needs of individuals under their control (which includes food, clothing, shelter, medical attention, law maintenance, and social order). To prevent systematic abuse of [[puppet government]]s by the occupation forces, they must enforce laws that were in place in the territory prior to the occupation.<!-- I've tried to limit these statements to elements that are both universal among signatory nations including the U.S. and not specifically overridden by U.S. law). References (and corrections if the references show the above statements to be wrong) are sought. -->

==Customs territories==
The fifty states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico form the main customs territory of the United States. Special rules apply to [[Foreign trade zones of the United States|foreign trade zone]]s in these areas.  Separate [[customs territory|customs territories]] are formed by American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

==Other areas==

U.S. sovereignty includes the [[airspace]] over its land and territorial waters. No international agreement exists on the vertical limit that separates this from outer space, which is international.

Federal jurisdiction includes [[federal enclave]]s like national parks and domestic military bases, even though these are located in the territory of a state. Host states exercise [[concurrent jurisdiction]] to some degree.

The United States exercises [[extraterritoriality]] on [[military bases|military installations]], American [[embassy|embassies]] and [[consulate]]s located in foreign countries, and [[research center]]s and [[Antarctic field camps|field camps]] in [[Antarctica]]. Despite exercise of [[extraterritorial jurisdiction]], these overseas locations remain under the sovereignty of the host countries (except Antarctica, where there is no host country). Because they are not part of any state, extraterritorial jurisdiction is federal, with Congress's [[plenary power]] under [[Article Four of the United States Constitution#Clause 2: Property Clause|Article IV, Section 3, Clause 2]] of the [[United States Constitution|U.S. Constitution]].

The federal government also exercises property ownership, but not sovereignty over land in various foreign countries.  Examples include the ''John F. Kennedy Memorial'' built at [[Runnymede]] in England,<ref>{{cite journal
  | last = Evans  | first = D. M. Emrys  | title = John F. Kennedy Memorial Act, 1964
  | journal = The Modern Law Review  | volume = 28  | issue = 6  | pages = 703–706
  | year = 1965  }}</ref> and {{convert|32|acres|hectare}} around [[Pointe du Hoc]] in [[Normandy, France]].<ref>{{cite web 
  | url=http://www.150th.com/letters/btl_monu.htm 
  | title=The American Battle Monuments Commission 
  | access-date=October 29, 2012 
  | quote="The site, preserved since the war by the French Committee of the Pointe du Hoc, which erected an impressive granite monument at the edge of the cliff, was transferred to American control by formal agreement between the two governments on 11 January 1979 in Paris, with Ambassador Arthur A. Hartman signing for the United States and Secretary of State for Veterans Affairs Maurice Plantier signing for France."}}
</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.abmc.gov/publications/VisitorBrochures/PointeduHoc_Brochure.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2013-02-04 |archive-date=2013-02-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130203014205/http://www.abmc.gov/publications/VisitorBrochures/PointeduHoc_Brochure.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.150th.com/letters/btl_monu.htm|title = The American Battle Monuments Commission}}</ref>

==History of U.S. federal lands==
The [[Land Ordinance of 1785]] and the [[Northwest Ordinance]] of 1787 provided for the survey and settlement of the lands that the original [[Thirteen Colonies]] ceded to the federal government after the [[American War of Independence|American Revolution]].<ref name=gpo /> As additional lands were acquired by the United States from [[Spain]], [[France]] and other countries, the [[United States Congress]] directed that they be explored, surveyed, and made available for settlement.<ref name="gpo">{{Cite web |url=http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/GPO-DOI-BLM-PUBLAND-1996/html/GPO-DOI-BLM-PUBLAND-1996-2.htm |title=The BLM: The Agency and its History |publisher=GPO |access-date=November 14, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141126080757/http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/GPO-DOI-BLM-PUBLAND-1996/html/GPO-DOI-BLM-PUBLAND-1996-2.htm |archive-date=November 26, 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref> During the Revolutionary War, military bounty land was promised to soldiers who fought for the colonies.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.archives.gov/research/microfilm/m804.pdf |title=Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land-Warrant Application Files (p. 7) |publisher=National Archives and Records Administration (1974) |access-date=November 14, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150213090214/http://www.archives.gov/research/microfilm/m804.pdf |archive-date=February 13, 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> After the war, the [[Treaty of Paris (1783)|Treaty of Paris of 1783]], signed by the United States, the [[UK]], [[France]], and [[Spain]], ceded territory to the United States.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/parisno.asp |title=British-American Diplomacy Treaty of Paris – Hunter Miller's Notes |publisher=The Avalon Project at Yale Law School |access-date=October 19, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150516033713/http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/parisno.asp |archive-date=May 16, 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Black, Jeremy. ''British foreign policy in an age of revolutions, 1783–1793'' (1994) pp 11–20</ref> In the 1780s, other states relinquished their own claims to land in modern-day [[Ohio]].<ref name=Ohio /> By this time, the United States needed revenue to function.<ref name="landord">Vernon Carstensen, "Patterns on the American Land." ''Journal of Federalism,'' Fall 1987, Vol. 18 Issue 4, pp 31–39</ref> Land was sold so that the government would have money to survive.<ref name=landord /> In order to sell the land, surveys needed to be conducted. The [[Land Ordinance of 1785]] instructed a geographer to oversee this work as undertaken by a group of surveyors.<ref name=landord /> The first years of surveying were completed by trial and error; once the territory of Ohio had been surveyed, a modern public land survey system had been developed.<ref name="White 1991">{{Cite book |last=White |first=C. Albert |title=A history of the rectangular survey system |publisher=Government Printing Office |year=1991 |location=Washington, DC}}</ref> In 1812, Congress established the [[United States General Land Office]] as part of the [[United States Department of the Treasury|Department of the Treasury]] to oversee the disposition of these federal lands.<ref name="Ohio">A History of the Rectangular Survey System by C. Albert White, 1983, Pub: Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management: For sale by G.P.O.</ref> By the early 1800s, promised bounty land claims were finally fulfilled.<ref name=war2 />

In the 19th century, other bounty land and homestead laws were enacted to dispose of federal land.<ref name=gpo /><ref name="war2">{{Cite web |url=https://www.archives.gov/research/microfilm/m804.pdf |title=Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land-Warrant Application Files (p. 3) |publisher=National Archives and Records Administration (1974) |access-date=November 14, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150213090214/http://www.archives.gov/research/microfilm/m804.pdf |archive-date=February 13, 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> Several different types of patents existed.<ref name="NARA">{{Cite web |url=https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/049.html |title=Records of the Bureau of Land Management [BLM] (Record Group 49) 1685–1993 (bulk 1770–1982) |publisher=National Archives and Records Administration |access-date=November 14, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129015947/http://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/049.html |archive-date=November 29, 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref> These include cash entry, credit, homestead, Indian, military warrants, mineral certificates, private land claims, railroads, state selections, swamps, town sites, and town lots.<ref name=NARA /> A system of local land offices spread throughout the territories, patenting land that was surveyed via the corresponding [[Surveyor General of the Northwest Territory|Office of the Surveyor General]] of a particular territory.<ref name=NARA /> This pattern gradually spread across the entire United States.<ref name="White 1991" /> The laws that spurred this system with the exception of the [[General Mining Law of 1872]] and the [[Desert Land Act]] of 1877 have since been repealed or superseded.<ref name=varied />

In the early 20th century, Congress took additional steps toward recognizing the value of the assets on public lands and directed the [[Executive Branch]] to manage activities on the remaining public lands.<ref name="varied">{{Cite web |url=http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/info/About_BLM/History.print.html |title=BLM and Its Predecessors: A Long and Varied History |publisher=BLM |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141126221553/http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/info/About_BLM/History.print.html |archive-date=November 26, 2014 |access-date=November 14, 2014}}</ref> The [[Mineral Leasing Act of 1920]] allowed leasing, exploration, and production of selected commodities, such as [[coal]], [[Petroleum|oil]], [[Natural gas|gas]], and [[sodium]] to take place on public lands.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/ut/vernal_fo/lands___minerals.Par.6287.File.dat/MineralLeasingAct1920.pdf |title=Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 As Amended |publisher=BLM |access-date=November 14, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923232809/http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/ut/vernal_fo/lands___minerals.Par.6287.File.dat/MineralLeasingAct1920.pdf |archive-date=September 23, 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Taylor Grazing Act]] of 1934 established the [[United States Grazing Service]] to [[Rangeland management|manage the public rangelands]] by establishment of advisory boards that set grazing fees.<ref>{{Cite journal |editor1-last=Wishart |editor1-first=David J.|editor1-link=David J. Wishart|title=Taylor Grazing Act |url=http://plainshumanities.unl.edu/encyclopedia/doc/egp.ag.071 |journal=Encyclopedia of the Great Plains |publisher=[[University of Nebraska–Lincoln]] |access-date=November 14, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129021203/http://plainshumanities.unl.edu/encyclopedia/doc/egp.ag.071 |archive-date=November 29, 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="montana">{{Cite thesis |last=Elliott |first=Clayton R. |title=Innovation in the U.S. Bureau of Land Management: Insights from Integrating Mule Deer Management with Oil and Gas Leasing (Masters Thesis) |date=August 2010 |publisher=[[University of Montana]] |page=45 |hdl=2027.42/77588|type=Thesis }}</ref> The [[Oregon and California Railroad Revested Lands|Oregon and California Revested Lands Sustained Yield Management Act]] of 1937, commonly referred as the O&C Act, required sustained [[yield management]] of the timberlands in western Oregon.<ref name="ochistory">{{Cite web |url=http://www.blm.gov/or/files/OC_History.pdf |title=O&C Sustained Yield Act: the Law, the Land, the Legacy |publisher=Bureau of Land Management |access-date=March 6, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024061002/http://www.blm.gov/or/files/OC_History.pdf |archive-date=October 24, 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Currently, [[federal lands]] are about 640 million [[acre]]s, about 28% of the total U.S. land area of 2.27 billion acres.<ref>Lipton, Eric, and Clifford Krauss, [https://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/24/us/romney-would-give-reins-to-states-on-drilling-on-federal-lands.html Giving Reins to the States Over Drilling], ''New York Times'', August 24, 2012.</ref><ref name="VincentArguetaHanson">Carol Hardy Vincent, Carla N. Argueta, & Laura A. Hanson, [https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R42346.pdf Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data], Congress Research Service (March 3, 2017).</ref>

==See also==
* [[Territories of the United States]]
* [[Exclusive economic zone of the United States]]
* ''[[Tuaua v. United States]]''
* ''[[Fitisemanu v. United States]]''

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Notes==
*{{Cite book | last=Fleury Graff | first=Thibaut| title=Etat et territoire en droit international. L'exemple de la construction du territoire des Etats-Unis (1789–1914) (State and Territory in International Law. The case of United States' Territory (1789–1914))| year=2013 | publisher=Pedone | location=Paris, France | isbn=978-2-233-00686-8}}
*{{Cite book |title=[[Cyclopaedia of Political Science|Cyclopaedia of Political Science, Political Economy, and of the Political History of the United States]]|last=Lalor|first=John J.|year=1899 |publisher=Maynard, Merrill, and Co.|chapter=Territories|location=New York|oclc=221087006}}
*{{Cite book | last=McFerson | first=Hazel M.| title=The Racial Dimension of American Overseas Colonial Policy| year=1997 | publisher=Greenwood Press | location=Westport, Conn.| isbn=0-313-28996-4 |oclc=36301430}}
*{{Cite book |last1= Willoughby|first1= Westel W.|author-link1= Westel W. Willoughby|title= The Constitutional Law of the United States|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=88wlAAAAMAAJ|volume= 2|year= 1910|publisher= Baker, Voorhis & Company|location= New York|oclc= 180533376}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090814081611/http://nationalatlas.gov/mld/usacqup.html USGS map of the territorial acquisitions of the U.S.]

{{Territories of the United States}}
{{United States political divisions}}
{{United States topics}}
{{Former sovereign or unrecognized states within the United States}}

[[Category:United States federal territory and statehood legislation| ]]
[[Category:Insular areas of the United States| ]]
[[Category:Colonization history of the United States]]
[[Category:Federal government of the United States]]