WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Supreme Court issued the Insular Cases beginning in May 1901, establishing that newly acquired overseas territories belonged to the United States but were not legally considered part of the country for constitutional purposes. Chief Justice Melville Fuller wrote that they would exist "like a disembodied shade, in an intermediate state of ambiguous existence for an indefinite period."
This legal framework followed the Spanish-American War in 1898, which lasted four months. Following the war, the U.S. acquired Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines from Spain. This acquisition added approximately 8 million people to the U.S. population.
Prior to the court ruling, Congress applied tariffs to Puerto Rican goods. In 1900, members of Congress opposed granting statehood to newly acquired overseas territories. Supreme Court Justice Henry Billings Brown wrote about the challenges, stating, "If those possessions are inhabited by alien races, differing from us in religion, customs, laws, methods of taxation, and modes of thought, the administration of government and justice according to Anglo-Saxon principles may for a time be impossible."
Residents of U.S. territories can vote in presidential primaries but not in the general presidential election. Approximately 3.6 million residents of U.S. territories do not have voting representation in the U.S. Senate. U.S. territories are represented in the House of Representatives by delegates who cannot vote on final legislation.
Congress created the position of resident commissioner to represent territories not designated for statehood. The resident commissioner representing Puerto Rico serves a four-year term in Congress, and Puerto Rico has a larger population than at least thirteen U.S. states. Delegates representing Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Washington, D.C., also serve in Congress. These congressional delegates and resident commissioners may introduce legislation, serve on committees, vote within committees, and speak on the House floor.
Legal scholars and activists have requested that the court overturn the Insular Cases. Justice Neil M. Gorsuch stated, "They have no foundation in the constitution and rest instead on racial stereotypes." The court has not overruled the Insular Cases.