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GUAM
Insular Area Summary for GuamHistory & Political Status
Guam became a U.S. territory in 1898 and placed under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Navy. The Guam Organic Act of 1950 conferred U.S. citizenship on Guamanians and established the territory’s government. The Act also transferred Federal jurisdiction over Guam from the U.S. Navy to the Department of the Interior. First elections were held in 1970. Elected LeadersGovernor: Felix P. Camacho Distances from placesWashington DC: 8,950 miles Population & DemographyTotal population: 173,456 (29.5 percent of DC) Economy & Income SourcesEstimated gross domestic product (GDP): $4.0 billion Proposed Defense Buildup8,500 Marines to move from Okinawa in 2015 Labor Force & EmploymentTotal payroll employment (2007): 60,350 Government FinancesTotal gov’t. revenues: $797.4 million (FY 07) OIA ContactsAngela Williams Historical OverviewHistory Political Status
The initial Western contact with Guam occurred in 1521, Ferdinand Magellan reached the southernmost Mariana Islands during his circumnavigation of the globe. General Miguel Legaspi claimed Guam and the other Mariana Islands for Spain in 1565. Spanish colonization commenced in 1668. The Chamorro population then was estimated at 50,000 throughout the Mariana Archipelago. However, introduced diseases and the Spanish-Chamorro wars decimated the Chamorro race, reducing the number of inhabitants to fewer than 2,000 by 1700. Guam served as a way station for the Spanish Acapulco-to-Manila galleons from 1668 to 1815. The Spanish regime ended in 1898 when American forces took Guam during the Spanish-American War. The Treaty of 1898, Article II, negotiated under President McKinley, transferred control of Guam to the United States. Spain later sold the rest of the Mariana Islands, including Saipan, Tinian and Rota, to Germany. From 1899 to 1941, Guam was under U.S. Naval Administration. At the outbreak of World War II, the Japanese seized Guam and occupied the island for two and a half years. American forces recaptured Guam in July 1944, and the U.S. Naval Administration resumed responsibility when peace returned. In 1950, the U.S. Government enacted the Guam Organic Act, conferring U.S. citizenship on the people of Guam and establishing local self-government. Under the Organic Act of 1950, the Secretary of the Interior assumed administrative responsibility for Guam, formerly vested in the Secretary of the Navy.
Seeking to improve its current political status, the Guam Commission on Self-Determination has drafted a proposed Guam Commonwealth Act, which was approved in two 1987 plebiscites. In February 1988, the document was submitted to the Congress for its consideration and was introduced in four consecutive Congresses--the 100th through the 104th. Government
The governmental structure is very much like a state government with a governor, legislature, and local judiciary. The executive branch is comprised of a popularly elected governor and lieutenant governor each serving a four-year term. The current Governor is the Honorable Felix Camacho and his Lt. Governor Mike Cruz. The legislative branch is a 15 member unicameral legislature whose members are elected every two years. The judicial system includes a territorial court called the Superior Court, a Supreme Court and a U.S. District Court. The U.S. District Court handles U.S. constitutional questions and other Federal cases. Appeals are channeled through the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco and from there to the U.S. Supreme Court. Guam's Congressional Delegate possesses the same powers and privileges as Representatives from the several States, with the exception of voting on the House floor. » » » OIA appreciates the photos made courtesy of Congresswoman Bordallo's Guam District Office« « « |
