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territory since 1899, and it's still a U.S. Other times, they've lingered for quite a long time.
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Sometimes they've filled up quickly with white settlers, such as California, and, within just a few moments, you know, in historical time, have become states.
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And those territories have meant different things over different times. It turns out that despite the fact that the name of the country is the United States of America, since its first day of being an independent country, it's been a collection of states and territories. Was there any single rule for their status or governance - these, you know, nonstate territories?ĭANIEL IMMERWAHR: Well, I think you're right. There were a lot of territories as the Native American population was pushed and pushed. Your book is about the growth of territories in the United States - those other than the states, which of course happened a lot as the U.S. Well, Daniel Immerwahr, welcome to FRESH AIR. Daniel Immerwahr is an associate professor of history at Northwestern University and the author of a previous book "Thinking Small: The United States And The Lure Of Community Development." His new book is "How To Hide An Empire: A History Of The Greater United States." territorial expansion, including - and I'm not kidding - the need for massive quantities of bird poop in the 19th century. Immerwahr's new book is a colorful look at the history of and forces behind U.S. Today, roughly 4 million people live in the American territories of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa and the Northern Marianas. Our guest, historian Daniel Immerwahr, says there are also plenty of times in our history when we've subjugated and ruled foreign lands - sometimes with bloody conquests. American presidents like to describe the United States as a force for freedom and independence in the world.