The Congress of Micronesia was a bicameral legislature in Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands from 1964 to 1979.
19-766: The Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands ( TTPI ) was a United Nations trust territory in Micronesia administered by the United States from 1947 to 1994. The Imperial Japanese South Seas Mandate had been seized by the US during the Pacific War , as Japan had administered the territory since the League of Nations gave Japan a mandate over the area from Imperial Germany after World War I . However, in
38-747: A normal school serving all areas of the Trust Territory, opened in Guam. It moved to Chuuk in 1948, to be more central in the Trust Territory, and was renamed Pacific Islands' Teacher Training School (PITTS). It transitioned from being a normal school to a comprehensive secondary school, so it was renamed the Pacific Islands Central School (PICS). The school moved to Pohnpei in 1959. It was a three-year institution housing students who graduated from intermediate schools. The school, later known as Pohnpei Island Central School (PICS),
57-527: A water area the size of the continental United States. It was subdivided into six districts and represented a variety of cultures, with nine spoken languages. The Pohnpeians and Kosraeans , Marshallese and Palauans , Chuukese , Yapese and Chamorros had little in common, except they were in the same general area of the Pacific Ocean. The large distances between people, the lack of an economy, and language and cultural barriers all worked against
76-609: Is now Bailey Olter High School . Palau Intermediate School, established in 1946, became Palau High School in 1962 as it added senior high grades. From the late 1960s to the middle of the 1970s, several public high schools were built or received additions in the Trust Territory. They included Jaluit High School , Kosrae High School , Marshall Islands High School in Majuro, Palau High, PICS, and Truk High School (now Chuuk High School ). The Micronesian Occupational College in Koror, Palau,
95-942: The UN Charter provided that, as such, its formal status as a UN trust territory could be terminated only by the Security Council and not by the General Assembly as with other trust territories. The United States Navy controlled the TTPI from a headquarters in Guam until 1951, when the United States Department of the Interior took over control, administering the territory from a base in Saipan . The Territory contained 100,000 people scattered over
114-590: The United Nations Trusteeship Council and authorized to a single country. The concept is distinct from a territory temporarily and directly governed by the United Nations . The one League of Nations mandate not succeeded by a trust territory was South West Africa , at South Africa 's insistence. South Africa's apartheid regime refused to commit to preparing the territory for independence and majority rule , as required by
133-695: The 1930s, Japan left the League of Nations and invaded additional lands. During World War II, military control of the islands was disputed, but by the war's end, the islands had come under the Allies' control. The Trust Territory of the Pacific was created to administer the islands as part of the United States while still under the auspices of the United Nations. Most of the island groups in the territory became independent states, with some degree of ties kept with
152-420: The Pacific Islands at Wikimedia Commons 10°30′N 152°00′E / 10.500°N 152.000°E / 10.500; 152.000 United Nations trust territories The United Nations trust territories were the successors of the remaining League of Nations mandates , and came into being when the League of Nations ceased to exist in 1946. All the trust territories were administered through
171-761: The Senate and House of Representatives. The Congress building was burnt down in an arson attack on 20 February 1970. The Senate had 12 members, two from each of the six districts . The House of Representatives had 21 members, with seats apportioned to each district based on their population – five from Truk , four from the Marshall Islands and Ponape , three from the Mariana Islands and Palau and two from Yap . Elections were held every two years. Senators served four-year terms, with one Senator elected from each district at each election. All members of
190-717: The Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands The Congress was established on 28 September 1964, when the US Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall issued order no. 2882. It replaced the previous Council of Micronesia , which had been based outside the Trust Territory in Guam . The first elections were held in January 1965. The Congress was initially composed of a House of Delegates and General Assembly, which were later renamed
209-679: The United States: the Federated States of Micronesia , Marshall Islands and Palau are today independent states in a Compact of Free Association with the US, while the Northern Mariana Islands remain under US jurisdiction, as an unincorporated territory and commonwealth . Spain initially claimed the islands that later composed the territory of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI). Subsequently, Germany established competing claims over
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#1732775970977228-415: The islands in the former South Seas Mandate , a mandate that authorized Japanese administration of the islands. The islands then remained under Japanese control until captured by the United States in 1944 during World War II . The TTPI entered UN trusteeship pursuant to Security Council Resolution 21 on July 18, 1947, and was designated a "strategic area" in its 1947 trusteeship agreement. Article 83 of
247-562: The islands. The competing claims were eventually resolved in favor of Germany when Spain, following its loss of several possessions to the United States during the Spanish–American War , ceded its claims over the islands to Germany pursuant to the German–Spanish Treaty (1899) . Germany, in turn, continued to retain possession until the islands were captured by Japan during World War I . The League of Nations formally placed
266-596: The population favored independence. A Congress of Micronesia first levied an income tax in 1971. It affected mainly foreigners working at military bases in the region. On October 21, 1986, the U.S. ended its administration of the Marshall Islands District . The termination of U.S. administration of the Chuuk , Yap , Kosrae , Pohnpei , and the Mariana Islands districts of the TTPI soon followed on November 3, 1986. The Security Council formally ended
285-575: The trust territory guidelines, among other objections. South-West Africa eventually gained independence in 1990 as Namibia . All trust territories have either attained self-government or independence . The last was Palau , formerly part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands , which became a member state of the United Nations in December 1994. All these territories previously were League of Nations mandates. Congress of
304-716: The trusteeship for the Chuuk, Yap, Kosrae, Pohnpei, Mariana Islands, and Marshall Islands districts on December 22, 1990, pursuant to Security Council Resolution 683 . On May 25, 1994, the Council ended the trusteeship for the Palau District pursuant to Security Council Resolution 956 , after which the U.S. and Palau agreed to establish the latter's independence on October 1. In 1969, the 100 occupied islands comprised 700 square miles (1,800 km) over an area of 3,000,000 square miles (7,800,000 km) of sea. The latter area
323-454: The union. The six district centers became upscale slums, containing deteriorated Japanese-built roads, electricity, modern music, and distractions, which alienated youth and elders. The remainder of the islands maintained their traditional way of life and infrastructure. In the late 1960s, the U.S. opposed the idea of eventual independence. Instead, they aimed for some form of association, perhaps with Hawaii. They estimated that perhaps 10-25% of
342-671: Was also built. It later merged with the Kolonia-based Community College of Micronesia, which began operations in 1969, into the College of Micronesia-FSM in 1976. Following the termination of the trusteeship, the territory of the former TTPI became four separate jurisdictions: The following sovereign states have become freely associated with the United States under the Compact of Free Association (COFA). [REDACTED] Media related to Trust Territory of
361-628: Was comparable in size to the continental United States. The water area is about 5% of the Pacific Ocean . The islands' population was 200,000 in the latter part of the 19th century. The population decreased to 100,000 by 1969 due to emigration, war, and disease. At that time, the population inhabited less than 100 out of 2,141 of the Marshall, Mariana, and Caroline Islands. In 1947, the Mariana Islands' Teacher Training School (MITTS),
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