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Aug 9, 2017 · When the U.S. won the war, it made Guam an official U.S. territory. Guamanians, as the U.S. government calls them, are now U.S. citizens by birth. However, unlike citizens in America’s 50 states,...
- Becky Little
- Geographic Basics
- U.S. Relationship
- Military History
- People and Government
The strip of land in the western Pacific Ocean is roughly the size of Chicago, and just 4 miles wide at its narrowest point. It is about 2,200 miles southeast of North Korea, much closer than it is to any of the United States. Hawaii is about 4,000 miles to the west. Its proximity to China, Japan, the Philippines and the Korean Peninsula has long m...
Guam was claimed by Spain in 1565 and became a U.S. territory in 1898 during the Spanish-American War. Japan seized it for about 2 1/2 years during World War II. In 1950, an act of Congress made it an unincorporated organized territory of the United States. It has limited self-government, with a popularly elected governor, small legislature, and no...
The U.S. keeps a Naval base and Coast Guard station in the south, and an Air Force base in the north that saw heavy use during the Vietnam War. While already taking up 30 percent of the island, the American military has been seeking to increase its presence by relocating to Guam thousands of Marines who are currently based in Okinawa, Japan. Protec...
The island was first populated about 4,000 years ago by the ancestors of the Chamorros, still the island's largest ethnic group. Now, about 160,000 people live on Guam. Its capital city is Hagatna and its largest city is Dededo. Its chief languages are English and Chamorro. It has seen various popular movements pushing for greater self-government o...
People also ask
When did Guam become a US territory?
What is the history of Guam?
Is Guam American?
Why did the US take Guam?
Guam is an unincorporated territory of the United States governed under the Organic Act of Guam, passed by the U.S. Congress and approved by the president on August 1, 1950. The Organic Act made all Chamorros U.S. citizens.
The history of Guam starts with the early arrival around 2000 BC of Austronesian people known today as the Chamorro Peoples. The Chamorus then developed a "pre-contact" society, that was colonized by the Spanish in the 17th century. The present American rule of the island began with the 1898 Spanish–American War.
While geographically, Guam is among the Mariana Islands, so named by Spanish missionaries in 1668, it is a separate U.S. territory from the Northern Mariana Islands, which is technically a...
After World War II, the Guam Organic Act of 1950 established Guam as an unincorporated organized territory of the United States, provided for the structure of the island's civilian government, and granted the people U.S. citizenship.
Sep 27, 2022 · Last Updated: September 27, 2022. Thousands of people asked Google last month: “Is Guam a U.S. territory?” The quick answer? Yes. However, the longer answer is actually more interesting—and it reveals Guam’s unique global status as well as its rich history.
