Political divisions of the United States: Encyclopedia II - Political divisions of the United States - Jurisdictions not administered by the states

Political divisions of the United States - Jurisdictions not administered by the states

Political divisions of the United States - Federal district of the United States

A separate federal district under the direct authority of congress, the District of Columbia, was formed from land ceded to the Federal Government by the adjoining states (Maryland and Virginia); although all of the Virginia cession was subsequently returned to state jurisdiction. The district does not form part of any state and the United States Congress has the constitutional power of, "Exclusive jurisdiction in all cases whatsoever," over the district; however, the District of Columbia Home Rule Act provides for a mayor-council system of government.

The district is synonymous with the nation's capital city, Washington, D.C..

Political divisions of the United States - Indian reservations

Indian reservations are a separate and special classification of political division of the U.S. Under U.S. law, Indian tribes are sovereign nations, meaning that their legal authority to exist derives independently of the state and federal governments. However, under this definition of tribal sovereignty, they cannot act independently of the federal government, but they are immune from regulations under state law. Until the late-19th century, agreements between the U.S. government and Native American groups were generally called treaties, however these are now considered domestic legislation despite their name, and, since the passage of the Dawes Act in 1883, no new treaties with Indian tribes have been concluded.

Political divisions of the United States - Territories of the United States

Lands and regions not part of any state, and not assigned to the native peoples of the Americas, have often been legally designated as territories by the U.S. government. Most of these possessions, as they are alternately called, were the results of seizure and cession. All former territories in the contiguous U.S. are now states; many overseas unincorporated territories, briefly held, are now independent countries — Cuba and the Philippines being two examples. See the individual articles for in-depth examinations of the legal status of these entities.

The United States currently has only one incorporated territory, Palmyra Atoll, and has no territories slated to become states. This has been the case since 1959, up to which point large parts of the United States were under the direct control of the federal government, with nominal political autonomy at the territorial level.

Unlike states, the authority to rule dependent areas comes not from the people of those areas but from the Federal government, however in most cases Congress has granted a large amount of self-rule.

Several islands in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea are considered insular areas of the United States.

• none

• Palmyra Atoll (uninhabited, owned by The Nature Conservancy but administered by the Office of Insular Affairs; part of the United States Minor Outlying Islands)

• American Samoa (officially unorganized, although self-governing under authority of the U.S. Department of the Interior)
• Guam (organized under Organic Act of 1950)
• Northern Mariana Islands (commonwealth, organized under 1977 Covenant)
• Puerto Rico (commonwealth, organized under terms of Puerto Rico-Federal Relations Act)
• U.S. Virgin Islands (organized under Revised Organic Act of 1954)

Along with Palmyra Atoll, these form the United States Minor Outlying Islands:

• Baker Island
• Howland Island
• Jarvis Island
• Johnston Atoll
• Kingman Reef
• Midway Islands (administered as the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge)
• Navassa Island
• Wake Island

From July 18, 1947 until October 1, 1994, the U.S. administered the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, but more recently entered into a new political relationship with all four political units (one of which is the Northern Mariana Islands listed above, the others being the three freely-associated states noted below).

• Navassa Island (with Haiti)
• Machias Seal Island (with Canada)
• Wake Island (with Marshall Islands)
• Serranilla Bank (with Colombia)
• Bajo Nuevo Bank (with Jamaica)

Political divisions of the United States - Freely-associated states

The freely-associated states are the three sovereign nations with which the United States has entered into a Compact of Free Association.

• Republic of the Marshall Islands
• Federated States of Micronesia
• Republic of Palau

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Jurisdictions not administered by the states", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki