Organic Act of 1950

From Freepedia

The Guam Organic Act of 1950, 48 U.S.C. 1421 et.seq. established Guam as an unincorporated territory of the United States, established the structure of the goverment and tranferred responsibility for the administration of the island to the Department of the Interior.

The first bill providing for an organic act for Guam as well as citizenship for its people was introduced on July 15, 1946 by Indiana Rep., Robert A. Grant in the form of H.R. 7044. This provided that Guam be accorded the semi-autonomous status as an Organized territory, with the privilege of sending a delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives. This bill, however, was never even reported out of committee as was the fate of all the bills introduced during the 79th Congress.

[T]he Guam Congress approved the establishment of the Superior Court. One year later, it passed a bill to abolish the court.

Assemblymen walk out and dismissed

The issue of local authority came to a head when the House of Assembly of the Guam Congress subpoenaed an American Civil service employee of the Navy who might have knowledge of an attempt to take advantage of Guam's import-export market. He, however, refused to answer the subpoena and was supported by the Governor (1949-1953), Charles Alan Pownall. Angered and frustrated by what they saw as a lack of respect and authority afforded to them, the Assemblymen walked out en mass on March 6, 1949. Governor Pownall requested them to return, and when refused, he dismissed them.

This dramatic encounter received international attention and widespread publicity that generated a great deal of support for home rule and U.S. citizenship for the Guamanian people. Though the Assemblymen were reinstated by the Governor, U.S. citizenship and some form of home rule was a foregone conclusion.

President Truman issue interim law

To pacify the island until the U.S. Congress could pass an Organic Act, U.S. President Harry S. Truman, issued Executive Order No. 10077, which stipulated that:

The administration of the island of Guam is hereby transferred from the Secretary of the Navy to the Secretary of the Interior, such transfer to become effective on July 1, 1950.

The Department of the navy and the Department of the Interior shall proceed with plans for the transfer of the administration of the island of Guam as explained in the above mentioned memorandum of understanding between the two departments.

When the transfer of administration made by this order becomes effective, the Secretary of the Interior shall take such action as may be necessary and appropriate, and in harmony with applicable law, for the administration of civil government in the island of Guam.

The executive departments and agencies of the government are authorized and directed to cooperate with the Departments of the Navy and Interior in the effectuation of the provisions of this order.

The said Executive Order No. 108-A on December 5, 1898, is revoked, effective July 1, 1950.

"The people of Guam were afforded the opportunity to set and administer policy and laws for the island of Guam."

In accordance with this order, Mr. Carlton Skinner, a public relations officer in the Department of Interior, was selected by the Interior Department, nominated by the Navy Department and then appointed by the President to serve as Guam’s first civilian Governor. He took the oath of office on September 17, 1949.

On October 3, 1949, the House of Public Lands Committee reported out H.R. 4499 which would eventually be passed into law containing provisions known as the Organic Act of Guam. Guam, as a U.S. Unincorporated Territory, was granted, among other things, some leeway in forming the Judicial Branch of Government of Guam. The first such rights afforded them since the Chamorros lost to Spain in 385 years hence.