TERRITORIES (OF. territoric, Fr. terri toire, from Lat. tcrritorium, district, from terra, earth, land). The name given in the United States to certain parts of the national domain which have not been erected into States. In 1903 they were Arizona. New Mexico. Oklahoma. the Indian Territory, the District of Columbia. and 'Alaska on the Continent, Porto Rieo in the West Indies, and Hawaii, the Samoan Islands, Guam, and the Philippine Islands in the Pacific, aggre gating a total area of about 962,630 square miles. They may be classified as (1) organized Terri tories; 12) unorganized Territories; (31 the Federal District ; and (4) the insular possessions. In the first class belong Arizona, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. To the second belong the Indian Territory and Alaska. The organized Territories and Hawaii among the insular possessions have popularly elected local legislatures of two chambers chosen for a term of two years by a suffrage determined by local law. This legisla tive power extends to all rightful subjects not inconsistent with the Constitution and laws of the United States. but any law passed is subject to the veto of Congress. The executive power is vested in Governors appointed for a term of four years by the President of the United States with the consent of the Senate. In the organized Territories there is a series of courts of which the higher ones are held by judges appointed for a term of four years by the President. These courts are not, however, a part of the Federal judiciary. The other important officers of the Territory are likewise appointed by the Presi dent and are paid from the Treasury of the United States. The Governors and judges of the Supreme Court receive $3900 a year. The Ter ritories are not regularly represented in Con gress, but are allowed to send a delegate, who is given a seat in the House of Representatives with a right to take part in the debates, but not to vote. For the government of Alaska, the Indian Territory, the District of Columbia, Porto Rico, the Samoan Islands, and the Philippine Islands, see these titles.
By the United States Constitution the National Congress is given power "to make all needful rides and regulations respecting the territory or other property belonging to the United States."
From the beginning this clause was construed as giving the powers incident to jurisdiction as well as to ownership, and even before the adop tion of the Constitution the Northwest Tern tory was regularly organized by the old Confed eration Congress, which for this purpose passed the famous Ordinance of 17S7. (See NnaTnwEsT TERRITORY.) This ordinance served as the model for much of the subsequent legislation in. the same field. though there were a number of im portant variations. Thus, ill the organization of the Territories of Tennessee and Mississippi the clause of the Ordinance of 1787 prohibiting slav ery was omitted. Of the present States of the United States all. except tile original thirteen and Vermont. Maine, Kentucky, West Virginia, Texas, and California. have passed through the Territo rial stage. Vermont. Kentucky, Maine, and West Virginia were each formed out of territory which belonged to one of the original thirteen States, and Texas and California were regularly admitted to Statehood without ever having been organized as Territories. The size of many of the Terri tories, however, differed widely from the size of the States which bear the same names, and there has been a radical changing of boundaries. Thus the Territory of Mississippi originally included Alabama : the Territory of Indiana as organized in 1804 contained all of the Northwest Territory except (Thin; the Territory of Illinois as organ ized in 1809 inelnded the land now constituting the States of Illinois and Wisconsin, and part of Upper Michigan; the Territory of Michigan after 1834 included all of the territory north of Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, and be tween Lakes Eric and Huron and the Missouri River; the Territory of Oregon as organized in 1848 covered all the territory of the United States north of latitude 42° N., and west of the Rocky 111ounta ins: and the Territory of Nebraska as organized in 1854 contained land now in Mon tana, the Dakotas, Wyoming, and Colorado.