THE INSULAR CASES:
THE SUPREME COURT
ESTABLISHED A NEW TERRITORIAL DOCTRINE
In a series of decisions known as the
Insular Cases
(1901-
1922)2, the U.S. Supreme Court had a major role in establishing
a territorial doctrine which influenced the subsequent direction
of territorial policy.
The Insular Cases established the doctrine
of
incorporation
which
distinguished
between
unincorpor-
ated territories which were partially protected by the Constitu-
tion and incorporated territories
protection of the Constitution.
As
ritories had an inherent right to
but an unincorporated territory did
In
separate
decisions,
the
which were guaranteed full
a result, incorporated terbe considered for statehood
not.
Court
declared
Puerto
Rico
and
the Philippines as unincorporated territories; Alaska and Hawaii
were defined as incorporated and eventually became states.
the current flag territories are unincorporated.
over
The Insular Cases
the territories,
enabled it to exercise
Significantly different
All
reaffirmed Congress' complete authority
and the new doctrine of incorporation
authority in the offshore territories
from that for the contiguous territo-
ries.
In effect, unincorporated territories were accorded a
lesser status than incorporated territories, since they were not
granted full rights under the Constitution.
The fundamental
distinction between the two types of territorial status placed
the offshore territories in a legal “holding pattern" which
implied that they would have to undergo an indefinite period of
development before final status was resolved.
-CURRENT POLICY ADVOCATES
SELF~DETERMINATION
The United States currently advocates
determined political,
economic and social
its
territories
2In
the
and
insular
areas.
The
a policy of selfdevelopment toward
principle
of
self-
determination has remained a fundamental U.S. policy objective
since the end of World War II, and has been reaffirmed by all
(1901))
of
1900,
principal
case
(Downes V.
Bidwell,
182,
U.S.
244,287
the Court had to determine if Puerto Rico's Organic Act
which imposed temporary duties on exports, conflicted
with
the
constitution's
uniformity
clause.
This
clause
required that ". . . all Duties, Imports, and Excises should be
uniform throughout the United States."
Paris, unlike all previous territorial
provisions for
corporated and
ity clause.
9000214
Because the Treaty of |
acts, did not contain
incorporation, Puerto Rico was held to be uninthus the Congress was not bound by the uniform-