The Organic Act of Guam

As the island recovered from its World War II Japanese occupation, there was great feelings of gratitude and patriotism towards the United States. But this was tempered with concerns over the US military continuing to govern Guam through the US Navy and not allowing CHamorus a chance for local self-governance and denying them basic political rights. These concerns were exasperated by land takings by the US military which displaced thousands and eventually extended to almost 2/3 of the entire island.

In hopes of assuaging these concerns, the US Navy created the Guam Congress, a bicameral, advisory body, to which CHamorus could elect their leaders, but ultimately had no formal authority. In March 1949, the Guam Congress took a symbolic act of walking out of session, and refusing to return until the issues of basic rights and self-governance for CHamorus were addressed by the US government.

The Organic Act of Guam established a local government for the island, with three branches of government, executive, legislative and judicial. It also provided for US citizenship to the CHamoru people. It went into effect on August 1, 1950. This image features US President Harry S. Truman signing the Organic Act into law in Washington D.C. Only one CHamoru was present for the signing, Carlos Taitano.

The Organic Act represented an important improvement in the lives of the CHamoru people and in Guam’s political development, but it did not change Guam’s political status, as it until today remains an unincorporated territory. Fundamentally, the act was designed to re-assert American control over Guam and its resources in a post-World War II context. The passage of the Organic Act re-legitimized the US military’s taking of land from thousands of CHamoru families for its bases.

While the passage of the Organic Act represents a critical step in Guam’s political development, the larger goal of genuine self-governance, whether as a US state, a freely associated nation or an independent country, remains on the horizon.