Colonial Constitutionalism: The Tyranny of United States' Offshore Territorial Policy and Relations

Colonial Constitutionalism exposes one of the great failures of American democracy. It posits that the creation of a U.S. "empire" over the last century violated the basis of American constitutionalism through its failure to fully admit annexed offshore territories into the Union. The book's focused case studies analyze each of America's quasi-colonies, revealing how the perpetuation of a this "imperialist" strategy has rendered the inhabitants second class citizens. E. Robert Statham, Jr.'s work emphasizes the pressing need-in the face of increasingly strident calls for sovereign independence from America's offshore territories-for a modern American republic, fundamentally incompatible with imperialism and colonialism, to grant full U.S. statehood to its overseas possessions.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1 Confronting the Tyranny of U.S. Territorial Extra-Constitutionalism: The Hyperextension of the Extended American Republic Chapter 2 The U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico: Pragmatism and the Empty Promise of Confederal Autonomy in the American Federal Republic Chapter 3 The United States v. The U.S. Virgin Islands: The Purchase of the Danish West Indies and their Inhabitants Chapter 4 U.S. Citizenship Policy in the Territory of Guam: The Making of One Out of Many, Or Many Out of One? Chapter 5 The Unincorporated, Unorganized U.S. Territory of American Samoa: Samoan Traditionalism-"Faa-Samoa" vs. American Constitutionalism Chapter 6 The Confederal/Federal U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands: A Paradox of "Independent" Dependency Chapter 7 The Freely Associated States of Micronesia: Pragmatism vs. Principle in U.S. Foreign Policy Chapter 8 Self-Determination, Self-Government, and the Definition of Political Status in the U.S. Offshore Territories: A Quest for Justice

About the Author :
E. Robert Statham, Jr. is Associate Professor of Political Science and Chair of the Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Guam.

Review :
Drawing on an interpretation of the Declaration of Independence based upon classical natural law philosophy, Colonial Constitutionalism provocatively examines the constitutional tensions between the founding philosophy of the United States and current governance arrangements with U.S. territories. This is an important contribution to discussions about territorial status that have only recently begun to receive the attention they deserve from constitutionalists. Robert Statham has written a provocative and stimulating analysis of a truly important and fascinating-and almost grotesquely understudied-topic, the continuing impact and implications of America's venture into imperialism. The United States is now perhaps the major colonialist in the world today, and Statham reviews the contemporary issues presented by our colonies in Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, and elsewhere. Statham reminds us of significant constitutional issues raised by this imperialism; he also treats the issue within a challenging framework of a Straussian political philosophy.