Unorganized territory: Difference between revisions
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'''Unorganized territory''' may refer to: |
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In the United States, an '''unorganized territory''' is a region of land without a "normally" constituted system of government. This does not mean that the territory has no government at all or that it is unclaimed territory. In practice, such territories are always sparsely populated. |
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* An [[unincorporated area]] in any number of countries |
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* One of the current or former [[territories of the United States]] that has not had a government "organized" with an "organic act" by the U.S. Congress |
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Historically, the term "unorganized territory" was applied to an area in which there was no effective government control of affairs on a day-to-day basis, such as the former U.S. territories where the government exerted only transient control when its forces were actually present. In modern usage it indicates an area in which local government does not exist, or exists only in embryonic form. However the area is still, at least in theory, governed by the nation of which it forms part, or by a smaller unit of that nation. |
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* [[Unorganized area]], any geographic region in Canada that does not form part of a municipality or Indian reserve |
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These lightly governed regions were common in the 19th century during the growth of United States. Large tracts such as the [[Louisiana Territory]], [[Missouri Territory]] and the [[Oregon Country]] were established by Congress. Later, a portion of a territory would organize and achieve the requirements for statehood, leaving the remainder "unorganized". |
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==U.S. Census Bureau== |
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Unorganized territories, as defined by the [[U.S. Census Bureau]], occur in 10 [[minor civil division]] (MCD) states ([[Arkansas]], [[Indiana]], [[Iowa]], [[Louisiana]], [[Maine]], [[Minnesota]], [[North Carolina]], [[North Dakota]], [[Ohio]], and [[South Dakota]]) where portions of [[county (US)|counties]] are not included in any legally established MCD or independent incorporated place. The U.S. Census Bureau recognizes such separate pieces of territory as one or more separate county subdivisions for statistical purposes. It assigns each unorganized territory a descriptive name, followed by the designation "unorganized territory". Unorganized territories were first used for statistical purposes in conjunction with the 1960 census.<ref>http://www.census.gov/geo/www/cob/cs_metadata.html</ref> |
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At the [[United States Census, 2000|2000 census]] there were 305 of these territories within the United States. Their total land area was 85,392 square miles (221,165 km<sup>2</sup>) and they had a total population of 247,331. South Dakota had the most unorganized territories, 102, as well as the largest amount of land under that status: 39,785 square miles (103,042 km<sup>2</sup>), or 52.4% of the state's land area. North Dakota followed with 86 territories, 20,358 square miles (52,728 km<sup>2</sup>), or 29.5% of its land area. Maine was next with 36 territories, 14,052 square miles (36,396 km<sup>2</sup>), or 45.5% of its land area. Minnesota had 71 territories, 10,552 square miles (27,330 km<sup>2</sup>), or 13% of its land area. Several other states had small amounts of unorganized territory. The unorganized territory with the largest population was [[Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune|Camp Lejeune, North Carolina]], a [[United States Marine Corps]] base with a census population of 34,452 inhabitants. |
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In the [[2010 United States census|2010 census]], unorganized territory areas were identified in nine U.S. states: Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, and South Dakota.<ref name=Census2011definition>{{cite web |url=http://www.census.gov/geo/www/2010census/gtc/gtc_cousub.html |title=Geographic Terms and Concepts - County Subdivision | author=U.S. Census Bureau, Geography Division |date=February 2011 |accessdate=July 10, 2012 |publisher=United States Census Bureau}}</ref> |
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==U.S. Territories== |
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[[File:USA Territorial Growth 1830.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Unorganized territory (dark green) in 1830.]] |
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An unorganized territory can also be a [[Territories of the United States|United States territory]] for which the [[United States Congress]] has not enacted an organic act. In this sense, unorganized territories are over which the federal U.S. government is sovereign but which are not located within any of the [[U.S. state|states]] of the Union and have not been "organized" into self-governing units. Currently, all federal unorganized territories are [[insular area]]s, administered by the [[Office of Insular Affairs]], [[U.S. Department of the Interior]]. [[American Samoa]] is technically unorganized, in that Congress has not passed an organic act, but it is effectively self-governing, under the terms of a constitution last revised in 1967. As of 2006, [[Palmyra Atoll]] (formerly part of the [[Territory of Hawaii]]) is the only unorganized ''incorporated'' U.S. territory. The other unorganized and all organized territories are unincorporated. Incorporated territories are permanently part of the United States whereas unincorporated territories may be sold, leased or granted independence by the United States. |
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[[File:USA Territorial Growth 1900.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Unorganized territories (dark green) in 1900.]] |
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At various times during the 19th century, large parts of the [[Great Plains]] were unorganized territory. After the [[Louisiana Purchase]] from France in 1803, the entire region was part of the [[Louisiana Territory]] until 1812 and the [[Missouri Territory]] until 1821. In 1821 the [[Missouri Compromise]] created the [[Missouri|State of Missouri]] from the territory, and the rest of the region was left unorganized. The [[Kansas–Nebraska Act]] of 1854 created the [[Kansas Territory|Kansas]] and [[Nebraska Territory|Nebraska]] Territories, bringing organized government to the region once again. The creation of Kansas and Nebraska left the [[Indian Territory]] as the only unorganized territory in the Great Plains. |
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In 1858, the western part of the [[Minnesota Territory]] became unorganized when it was not included in the new state of [[Minnesota]]; this area was organized in 1861 as part of the [[Dakota Territory]]. On May 2, 1890, the western half of the Indian Territory was organized as [[Oklahoma Territory|Oklahoma]]. The remainder was incorporated into the [[Oklahoma|State of Oklahoma]] upon its admission to the union in 1907. |
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[[Alaska]] was an unorganized territory between its acquisition by the United States in 1867 and the creation of the [[Alaska Territory]] in 1912. While still organized as a state, however, almost half of Alaska remains [[Unorganized Borough, Alaska|unorganized at the county level]]. |
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In modern parlance, such territory would be considered [[incorporated territory]] (i.e., part of the United States proper), yet not [[organized territory]]. However, the distinction between incorporated and non-incorporated territories did not arise until the territorial acquisitions following the [[Spanish–American War]] in 1898. |
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==Canada== |
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{{main|Unorganized area (Canada)}} |
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Unorganized territories also exist in certain regions of [[Canada]], such as [[Northern Ontario]] where there is no region-wide level of [[government]]. In [[Quebec]], territory not within the border of a municipality of some sort is unorganized territory. |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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* [[Unorganized Borough, Alaska]], an area without county-level government. |
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* [[Organized incorporated territories of the United States]] – which became U.S. states |
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* [[Unparished area]], areas of England outside any civil parish |
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* [[Territories of the United States]] – the classifications and lists of foreign possessions |
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{{dab}} |
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* [[Types of municipalities in Quebec]] |
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* [[Unparished area]] |
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* [[Unincorporated area]] |
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** [[Unincorporated territories of the United States]] |
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==References== |
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{{Reflist}} |
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==External links== |
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*[http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/DTTable?_bm=d&-context=dt&-ds_name=DEC_2000_SF1_U&-CHECK_SEARCH_RESULTS=N&-CONTEXT=dt&-mt_name=DEC_2000_SF1_U_P001&-tree_id=4001&-keyword=UT&-transpose=N&-all_geo_types=N&-redoLog=true&-_caller=geoselect&-geo_id=06000US0501393375&-geo_id=06000US0513191320&-geo_id=06000US1800509937&-geo_id=06000US1915393762&-geo_id=06000US2203397205&-geo_id=06000US2300311785&-geo_id=06000US2300313900&-geo_id=06000US2300353602&-geo_id=06000US2300369930&-geo_id=06000US2300373472&-format=&-_lang=en&-show_geoid=Y Unorganized Territory County Subdivisions] United States Census Bureau |
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{{Terms for types of administrative territorial entities}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Unorganized Territory}} |
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[[Category:Former regions and territories of the United States]] |
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[[Category:United States Census Bureau geography]] |
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[[Category:Subdivisions of the United States]] |
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[[Category:Types of country subdivisions]] |
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[[Category:Territories]] |
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Latest revision as of 04:18, 11 May 2022
Unorganized territory may refer to:
- An unincorporated area in any number of countries
- One of the current or former territories of the United States that has not had a government "organized" with an "organic act" by the U.S. Congress
- Unorganized area, any geographic region in Canada that does not form part of a municipality or Indian reserve
See also
[edit]- Unorganized Borough, Alaska, an area without county-level government.
- Unparished area, areas of England outside any civil parish
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