H. Res. 494
In the House of Representatives, U.S.,
October 13, 1998.
Whereas the Chamorro people have inhabited Guam and the
Mariana Islands for at least 4,000 years and developed
a unique and autonomous seafaring agrarian culture,
governing themselves through their own form of district
government;
Whereas in 1565 the Kingdom of Spain claimed the islands
of the Chamorro people, which were named the Ladrones
by Ferdinand Magellan in 1521 and renamed the Mari-
anas by the Jesuit missionary Diego Luis de San Vitores
in 1668, to secure the trans-Pacific route of the Manila-
Acapulco Galleon Trade, then, upon San Vitores’s death
in 1672, the islands were placed under military govern-
ance;
Whereas in 1898 the United States defeated the Kingdom of
Spain in the Spanish-American War and acquired Guam,
Puerto Rico, and the Philippines by virtue of the Treaty
of Paris;
Whereas, in signing the treaty, the United States Govern-
ment accepted responsibility for its new possessions and
agreed that Congress would determine the civil rights and
political status of the native inhabitants, as stated spe-
cifically in Article IX;
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Whereas President William McKinley, by Executive Order
108–A on December 23, 1898, placed the island of Guam
under the administration of the United States Navy,
which administered and governed the island, initially as
a coaling station, then as a major supply depot at the
end of World War II;
Whereas a series of rulings popularly known as the ‘‘Insular
Cases’’, issued by the United States Supreme Court from
1901 to 1922, defined Guam as an ‘‘unincorporated terri-
tory’’ in which the United States Constitution was not
fully applicable;
Whereas the United States Naval Government of Guam was
forced to surrender the island of Guam to the invading
forces of the Japanese Imperial Army on December 10,
1941, after which Japanese occupation and control of
Guam lasted until the United States Forces recaptured
the island in 1944;
Whereas Guam is the only remaining United States territory
to have been occupied by Japanese forces during World
War II, the occupation lasting for 32 months from 1941
to 1944;
Whereas the people of Guam remained loyal to the United
States throughout the Japanese occupation, risked tor-
ture and death to help clothe and feed American soldiers
hiding from enemy forces, and were subjected to forced
labor, ruthless executions, and other brutalities for their
support of the United States;
Whereas, upon liberation of the people of Guam, the island
was returned to United States Navy governance, which,
like its prewar predecessor, limited the civil and political
rights of the people, despite numerous appeals and peti-
•HRES 494 EH
tions to higher authorities and Congress for the granting
of United States citizenship and relief from military rule;
Whereas in 1945, upon establishment of the United Nations,
the United States voluntarily listed Guam as a nonself-
governing territory, pursuant to Article 73 of the United
Nations Charter, and today Guam continues to be in-
cluded in this list;
Whereas on March 6, 1949, the House of Assembly, the
lower house of the popularly elected 9th Guam Congress,
which was merely an advisory body to the Naval Gov-
ernor of Guam, adjourned in protest over the limitation
of its legislative rights granted to it by the United States
Department of the Navy in 1947 and refused to recon-
vene until the United States Congress enacted an organic
act for Guam;
Whereas the Organic Act of Guam (64 Stat. 384) passed by
Congress and signed by President Truman on August 1,
1950, statutorily decreed Guam’s status as an ‘‘unincor-
porated territory’’, established a three-branched civilian
government patterned after the Federal model, and con-
ferred United States citizenship upon the people of
Guam;
Whereas, since the granting of American citizenship, the peo-
ple of Guam have greater participation in the American
democratic processes and some measure of self-govern-
ment;
Whereas the people of Guam, who strongly adhere to the be-
lief that a government should derive power and right
from the governed, successfully gathered enough support
to push for the passage of the Elective Governor Act
(Public Law 90–497) on September 11, 1968, and in
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Statehood, 10 percent for Status Quo, 5 percent for In-
corporated Status, 4 percent for Free Association, 4 per-
cent Independence, and 2 percent for other options;
Whereas on September 4, 1982, a runoff was held between
commonwealth and statehood, the top options from the
January referendum, with the outcome of the runoff re-
sulting in 27 percent voting for statehood and 73 percent
of Guam’s electorate casting their votes in favor of a
close relationship with the United States through a Com-
monwealth of Guam structure for local self-government;
Whereas in 1988 the people of Guam first presented the
Guam Commonwealth Act to Congress to meet the var-
ious aspirations of the people of Guam, which bill has
been reintroduced by Guam’s Congressional delegates
since 1988 until the present;
Whereas Congress has continued to enact other measures to
address the various aspirations of the people of Guam,
while considering legislative approaches to advance self-
government without precluding Guam’s further right of
self-determination, consistent with the national political
climate that emphasizes decentralization of the decision
making process from Washington to the local govern-
ments and a relationship with the Federal Government
that is based on mutual respect and consent of the gov-
erned; and
Whereas the people of Guam are loyal citizens of the United
States and have repeatedly demonstrated their commit-
ment to the American ideals of democracy and civil
rights, as well as to American leadership in times of
peace as well as war, prosperity as well as want: Now,
therefore, be it
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Resolved, That the House of Representatives—
(1) recognizes 100 years of Guam’s loyalty and
service to the United States; and
(2) will use the centennial anniversary of the 1898
Spanish-American War to reaffirm its commitment to
the United States citizens of Guam for increased self-
government, consistent with self-determination for the
people of Guam.
Attest:
Clerk.