User:Jengod/U.S. territorial governance

Up until 1959 and the admission of Alaska and Hawaii, large parts of the United States were under the direct control of the federal government, with nominal political autonomy at the territorial level.

Territories were organized by an Organic Act and statehood was made possible by an Enabling Act. The U.S. Congress granted some territorial divisions "grades," generally based on population, to move them foward on the path toward statehood--generally just first- and second-grade status, but some began at third-grade status.

Territories were generally governed by a territorial governor and a territorial legislature. These political institutions had to draft a state constitution, to be approved by the Congress, before admission as a state. (For most of the 19th century there was a U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Territories and a U.S. Senate Committee on Territories organized to manage the relevant legislation.)