American Samoa
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- Adopted 17 Apr 1900
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- Adopted 24 Apr 1960
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Map
of American Samoa
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Hear
National Anthem "The Star Spangled Banner"
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Hear
Local Anthem "Amerika Samoa"
Adopted 1950
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Constitution (1 Jul 1967)
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Capital: Pago Pago
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Currency: U.S. Dollar (USD)
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National Holiday: 4 Jul (1776) U.S. Independence Day -----------------------------------
Local Holiday: 17 Apr (1900) Territorial Flag Day
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Population: 64,827 (2008)
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GDP: $575.3 million (2007)
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Exports: $337.8 million (2005) Imports: $506.2 million (2005)
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Ethnic Groups: Samoan (Polynesian) 88.2%,
Tongan 2.8%, Caucasian 1.2%, Asian 2.9%, mixed 2.8%, other 0.2% (2000)
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Total Active Armed Forces: N/A Defense is the Responsibility of the U.S. Merchant Marine: None (2008)
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Religions: Protestant 38% (of which Christian
Congregationalist 21%), Mormon 19%, Roman
Catholic 15%, other and non-religious 28% (2005)
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International
Organizations/Treaties: Interpol (subbureau), IOC, PC, UPU |
American
Samoa Index
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Chronology
13 Jun 1722
Samoa discovered by Dutch Capt. Jacob Roggeveen,
Rose Atoll is named Vuyle Eylandt (Bird Island).
5 May 1768
Revisited by French Capt. Louis-Antoine de
Bougainville, named Iles Navigateurs (Navigator
Islands).
21 Oct 1819
French Capt. Louis de Freycinet resights and names
Rose Atoll.
2 Nov 1871
New Zealand government recommends British
annexation of the Samoa Islands.
2 Mar 1872
U.S. Commander Richard Meade on U.S.S. Narragansett
signs a treaty granting the U.S. a coaling
station in Pago Pago.
13 Feb 1878
U.S. Treaty of Friendship with Tutuila and Aunu'u
Islands.
5 Nov 1884
King and Vice-King of Samoa petition Queen Victoria
to make Samoa a British colony.
14 Jul 1889
Tripartite German-UK-U.S. protectorate
(see Samoa).
17 Feb 1900 - 29 Jun 1951 Administered by the U.S. Navy.
17 Apr 1900
Tutuila and Aunu'u Islands ceded to United
States by local chiefs (American Samoa).
16 Jul 1904
Manu'a Islands (Manu'a, Ofu, Ta'u, etc.) and
Rose Atoll ceded to United States.
2 Apr 1909
The Tui Manu`a lineage becomes extinct.
17 Jul 1911
U.S. Naval Station Tutuila renamed American Samoa.
4 Mar 1925
Swains Island annexed by U.S.
20 Feb 1929
U.S. Congress formally accepts the cession of
Tutuila and Manu'a by their chiefs, with
retroactive effect to 16 Jul 1904.
29 Jun 1951
Administered by U.S. Department of Interior.
22 Apr 1960
Autonomy |
Swains Island
(1856-1925)
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Paramount chiefs (title Tui Manu`a)
c.1828
Taalolomana Fanaese
c.1836
Tauveve
c.1888
Tauilima Alalamua
1 Jul 1891 - 29 Oct 1895 Matelita (f)
(b. 1872? - d. 1895)
1899 - 2 Apr 1909
Elisara
(b. 18.. - d. 1909)
Commandants
17 Feb 1900 - 27 Nov 1901 Benjamin Franklin Tilley
(b. 1848 - d. 1907)
27 Nov 1901 - 16 Dec 1902 Uriel Sebree
(b. 1848 - d. 1922)
16 Dec 1902 - 5 May 1903 Henry Minett (acting)
(b. 1857 - d. 1952)
5 May 1903 - 30 Jan 1905 Edmund Beardsley Underwood (b. 1853 - d. 1928) Governors
30 Jan 1905 - 21 May 1908 Charles Brainard Taylor Moore
(b. 1853 - d. 1923)
21 May 1908 - 10 Nov 1910 John Frederick Parker
(b. 1853 - d. 1911)
10 Nov 1910 - 14 Mar 1913 William Michael Crose
(b. 1867 - d. 1929)
14 Mar 1913 - 14 Jul 1913 Nathan Woodworth Post (1st time)
(b. 1881 - d. 1938)
(acting)
14 Jul 1913 - 2 Oct 1914 Clark Daniel Stearns
(b. 1870 - d. af.1941)
2 Oct 1914 - 6 Dec 1914 Nathan Woodworth Post
(2nd time) (s.a.)
(acting)
6 Dec 1914 - 1 Mar 1915 Charles Armijo Woodruff
(acting) (b. 1884 - d. 1945)
1 Mar 1915 - 10 Jun 1919 John Martin Poyer
(b. 1861 - d. 1922)
10 Jun 1919 - 3 Nov 1920 Warren Jay Terhune
(b. 1869 - d. 1920)
11 Nov 1920 - 1 Mar 1922 Waldo A. Evans
(b. 1869 - d. 1936)
1 Mar 1922 - 4 Sep 1923 Edwin Taylor Pollock
(b. 1870 - d. 1943)
4 Sep 1923 - 17 Mar 1925 Edward Stanley Kellogg
(b. 1870 - d. 1948)
17 Mar 1925 - 9 Sep 1927 Henry Francis Bryan
(b. 1865 - d. 1944)
9 Sep 1927 - 2 Aug 1929 Stephen Victor Graham
(b. 1874 - d. 19..)
2 Aug 1929 - 24 Mar 1931 Gatewood Sanders Lincoln
(b. 1875 - d. 1957)
(1st time)
24 Mar 1931 - 22 Apr 1931 James Sutherland Spore (acting)
(b. 1885 - d. 1937)
22 Apr 1931 - 17 Jul 1931 Arthur Tenney Emerson (acting)
17 Jul 1931 - 12 May 1932 Gatewood Sanders Lincoln
(s.a.)
(2nd time)
12 May 1932 - 10 Apr 1934 George Bertram Landenberger
(b. 1879 - d. 1936)
10 Apr 1934 - 17 Apr 1934 Thomas Calloway Latimore (acting)
(b. 1890 - d. 1942)
17 Apr 1934 - 15 Jan 1936 Otto Carl Dowling
(b. 1887 - d. 1946)
15 Jan 1936 - 20 Jan 1936 Thomas Benjamin Fitzpatrick
(b. 1896 - d. 1974)
(acting)
20 Jan 1936 - 3 Jun 1938 MacGillivray Milne
(b. 1882 - d. 1959)
26 Jun 1938 - 30 Jul 1940 Edward William Hanson
(b. 1889 - d. 19..)
30 Jul 1940 - 8 Aug 1940 Jesse Rink Wallace (acting)
(b. 1899 - d. 1961)
8 Aug 1940 - 5 Jun 1942 Laurence Wild
(b. 1890 - d. 1971)
17 Jan 1942 - 25 Apr 1942 Henry L. Larsen
(b. 1890 - d. 1962)
(military governor)
5 Jun 1942 - 8 Feb 1944 John Gould Moyer
(b. 1893 - d. 1976)
8 Feb 1944 - 27 Jan 1945 Allen Hobbs
(b. 1899 - d. 1960)
27 Jan 1945 - 3 Sep 1945 Ralph Waldo Hungerford
(b. 1896 - d. 1977)
3 Sep 1945 - 10 Sep 1945 Samuel Wakefield Canan (acting)
(b. 1898 - d. af.1964)
10 Sep 1945 - 22 Apr 1947 Harold Alexander Houser
(b. 1897 - d. 1981)
22 Apr 1947 - 15 Jun 1949 Vernon Huber
(b. 1899 - d. 1967)
7 Jul 1949 - 23 Feb 1951 Thomas Francis Darden, Jr.
(b. 1900 - d. 1961)
23 Feb 1951 - 20 Jun 1952 Phelps Phelps
(b. 1897 - d. 1981)
16 Jul 1952 - 23 Nov 1952 John C. Elliott
(b. 1919 - d. 2001)
28 Nov 1952 - 4 Mar 1953 James Arthur Ewing
4 Mar 1953 - 5 Aug 1953 Lawrence M. Judd
(b. 1887 - d. 1968)
1 Oct 1953 - 15 Oct 1956 Richard Barrett Lowe
(b. 1902 - d. 1972)
15 Oct 1956 - 24 May 1961 Peter Tali Coleman (1st time)
(b. 1919 - d. 1997) Rep
24 May 1961 - 31 Jul 1967 Hyrum Rex Lee (1st time)
(b. 1910 - d. 2001) Dem
1 Aug 1967 - 31 Jul 1969 Owen Stuart Aspinall
(b. 1927) Dem 1
Aug 1969 - 14 Oct 1974 John Morse Haydon
(b. 1920) Rep
15 Oct 1974 - 6 Feb 1975 Frank C. Mockler (acting)
6 Feb 1975 - 30 Sep 1976 Earl Baker Ruth
(b. 1916 - d. 1989) Rep
1 Oct 1976 - 27 May 1977 Frank Barnett
Dem 28 May 1977 - 3 Jan 1978 Hyrum Rex Lee (2nd time)
(s.a.) Dem
3 Jan 1978 - 3 Jan 1985 Peter Tali Coleman (2nd
time) (s.a.)
Rep
3 Jan 1985 - 2 Jan 1989 Lutali Aifili Paulo Lauvao
(b. 1919 - d. 2002) Dem
(1st time)
2 Jan 1989 - 3 Jan 1993 Peter Tali Coleman (3rd
time) (s.a.)
Rep
3 Jan 1993 - 3 Jan 1997 Lutali Aifili Paulo Lauvao
(s.a.)
Dem
(2nd time)
3 Jan 1997 - 26 Mar 2003 Tauese Pita Fiti Sunia
(b. 1941 - d. 2003) Dem
26 Mar 2003 -
Togiola Talalelei A. Tulafono (b.
1947)
Dem
(acting to 7 Apr 2003)
Party abbreviations: Dem = Democratic Party (liberal);
Rep
= Republican Party (conservative)
International Disputes: Tokelau included American Samoa's Swains Island among the islands listed in its 2006 draft constitution.
Swains
Island
2 Mar 1606
Discovered by Spanish Capt. Fernando de Quiros and
named Isla de la Gente Hermosa.
1 Feb 1841
Named Swains Island.
13 Oct 1856
Semi-independent proprietary settlement founded by the
American Jennings family (often called Jennings Island).
1907
Claimed by the British Gilbert Islands.
1909
Recognized by Britain as within the U.S. zone of influence.
4 Mar 1925
Annexed to American Samoa.
25 Mar 1981
New Zealand confirms U.S. sovereignty.
Feb 2006 Claimed by Tokelau in its draft constitution.
Leaders (Proprietors) 13 Oct 1856 - 4 Dec 1878 Eli Hutchinson Jennings
(b. 1814 - d. 1878)
4 Dec 1878 - 25 Oct 1891 Malia Jennings (f)
(d. 1891)
25 Oct 1891 - 24 Oct 1920 Eli Hutchinson Jennings, Jr.
(b. 1863 - d. 1920)
"King Jennings"
24 Oct 1920 - Aug 1921 Ann Eliza Jennings
Carruthers (f) (b. 1897 - d. 1921)
- jointly with -
24 Oct 1920 - 4 Mar 1925 Alexander Hutchinson Jennings (b. 1897? - d. 1950's)
©2000 Ben Cahoon
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