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.
Pada masa lalu, istilah "teritorial tak terorganisir" diterapkan kepada sebuah kawasan dimana tak ada kontrol pemerintah efektif terhadap urusan atas dasar sehari-hari, seperti bekas teritorial-teritorial AS dimana pemerintah hanya memegang kontrol transien saat pasukannya benar-benar hadir.