WHKMLA : History of American Samoa, since 1960

1939-1960

Eastern Samoa a U.S. possession, 1939-1960

In 1960 the Samoans adopted a constitution, following which American Samoa remains an UNINCORPORATED TERRITORY of the United States. In 1978 for the first time a governor was elected. There is a bicameral legislature, consisting of a house of representatives (elected by popular vote, 20 members) and a senate of 18 members, delegated by county councils. Samoans do have U.S. nationality, but not full citizenship, i.e. they can not vote in U.S. elections.
In the last decades, TOURISM has become a major industry.
It should be noted, that a community of about 65,000 Samoans live in the continental United States, another 20,000 on Hawaii, striking numbers in comparison with the islands' remaining population.

Population of American Samoa, 1950-1996

1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
1996

19,000
21,000
27,000
32,000
38,000
59,556

EXTERNAL
FILES

History of American Samoa, from samoanet, from Infoplease
Resisting Temptation in the Garden of Paradise: Preserving the Role of Samoan Custom in the Law of American Samoa , by Jeffrey B. Teichert, from Gonzaga University

DOCUMENTS

Map of American Samoa, from CIA World Factbook
Flag, from FOTW, adopted in 1960

REFERENCE

This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted on January 13th 2002, last revised on November 5th 2004

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