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-