status once Islands, and arrangements the trusteeship is American Samoa, have self-government been a terminated. number supported encouraged. of and Currently, In Guam, different further the working with Guam in its effort to examine tionship with the federal government. its the Virgin governmental efforts United toward States status and is rela- Self-government has been an important part of political development One commonality linking all the territories is their gra-~ dual move toward greater self-government. While the early years of U.S. stewardship of the territories were characterized by military administration and relatively few advances in self- government, the post-World War II period marked a change. Inhabitants of the territories, who for decades had sought more autonomy, found support in the Congress and executive branch. Table 1 summarizes the territories' strides in the past several decades. Table1 Trends In Self-Government Guam Puerto Rico American Samoa The Virgin tslands Northern Martana Islands Upon term- . ination of Acquired by United States 1898 1898 1900 1917 First Organic Ac* passed? 1950 1900 none 1936 none 1972 1900 1980 1972 none 1950 1900 1960 1936 1977 Recelved nonvoting delegate In U.S, House of Representatives Elected first local legista-~ ture with full or substantial legislative authority Residents are Granted U.S, citizenship 1950 1917 Elected first governor 1970 1948 Granted constitution Rejected by voters In 1979 mostiy U.S. nationats® 1952 trusteeship ‘Upon .term- 1927 Ination of trusteeship 1977 1970 1977 1960 Rejected by voters tn 1979 1977 40rganic acts were passed by Congress to establish the local legal framework for governing each territory, ‘juam and -the Virgin tslands continue to be governed under their respective organic acts, while Puerto Rico is now a constitutional government. ba national is defined as a person who Is elther a citizen or noncitizen of the United States, owing permanent allegiance to the United States, In general, U.S. nationals enjoy the same protection and many of the same rights as U.S, citizens, The trend toward greater self-government has provided a high degree of local autonomy in each territory and has led to a 10 9000211