American Samoa
American Samoa is an unorganized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the South Pacific Ocean. Originally inhabited as early as 1000 BC, Samoa was reached by European explorers in the 18th century.
International rivalries in the latter half of the 19th century were settled by an 1899 treaty in which Germany and the US divided the Samoan archipelago. The US formally occupied its portion - a smaller group of eastern islands with the noted harbor of Pago Pago - the following year. (see History of Samoa for more.) The western islands are now the independent state of Samoa. Although technically considered "unorganized" in that the U.S. Congress has not passed an Organic Act for the territory, American Samoa is self-governing under a constitution that became effective on July 1, 1967.
See: List of American Samoa Governors
- Military: defense is the responsibility of the US
Facts:
- The American Samoa has Steps Point, the southernmost point in the United States (if you include Insular areas. See Extreme Points for more information.)
- Goods manufactured in territories or protectorates of the United States can be labeled "Made in the USA."
- About 30 ethnic Samoans, many from American Samoa, currently play in the National Football League. It has been estimated that a Samoan male (either an American Samoan, or a Samoan living in the 50 United States) is 40 times more likely to play in the NFL than a non-Samoan American.
- Persons born in American Samoa are United States nationals, but not United States citizens. This is virtually the only circumstance under which an individual would be one and not the other.
