US citizenship policy in the pacific territory of Guam
- 1 February 1998
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Taylor & Francis in Citizenship Studies
- Vol. 2 (1) , 89-104
- https://doi.org/10.1080/13621029808420671
Abstract
In 1950 the United States Congress approved the Organic Act of the Territorial Government of Guam which provided the island with a republican form of local government and American citizenship. The Act, however, does not completely fulfill the requirements of US Constitutional principles and law. Guamanians do not have representation in the Federal Government and do not pay Federal income taxes. The Organic Act produced a strange and confusing relationship between the United States and Guam. The contention of this research is that the fundamental problem with US citizenship policy in the Territory of Guam is (1) constitutional ambiguity, and (2) associated misconceptions concerning the theory and practice of American federalism, both of which might be remedied through either semi‐sovereignty of American statehood, or Guamanian independence.Keywords
This publication has 5 references indexed in Scilit:
- Destiny's LandfallPublished by Walter de Gruyter GmbH ,1995
- The Indigenous Voice in World PoliticsPublished by SAGE Publications ,1993
- America's Constitutional SoulPublished by Project MUSE ,1991
- Defining StatusPublished by Brill ,1989
- Federalism and FederationPublished by Project MUSE ,1982