The Guam Legislature is the lawmaking body of the government of Guam, and has been in existence since the passage of the Organic Act of Guam in 1950. Major events that have affected the legislature since then include the change in politics from a one-party system in the beginning (the Popular Party) to the two-party system of today (the Democrats and Republicans), as well as a reduction in the number of senators from 21 to 15.
The story of the Democratic Party of Guam traces back to the beginnings of representative democracy on the island. In the three centuries prior to the enactment of the Organic Act of Guam by the US Congress in 1950, the colonial governance of the island was entirely in the hands of administrations appointed by Spanish, Japanese, or US authorities.
Democratic Party of Guam Read Post »
First elected to the Guam Congress in 1936, Antonio Borja Won Pat (1908 – 1987) was a mainstay in Guam politics. He was most noted for spearheading the Organic Act of Guam and acting as the island’s first Washington representative in the US Congress.
Congressman Antonio B. Won Pat Read Post »
“Guamanian,” a term that evolved in the early years after World War II, was informally adopted as a means to distinguish between the Chamorros from Guam and the Chamorros from what is now the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The Mariana Islands were first colonized by Spain following the arrival of Ferdinand Magellan in the sixteenth century.
Adoption of “Guamanian” Read Post »
Henry Louis Larsen (1890 – 1962) was a lieutenant general of the US Marine Corps, and was the governor of Guam from 15 August 1944 to 30 May 1946. His major mission of World War II was as Island Commander.
Governor Henry Larsen Read Post »
On 5 March 1949, the Guam Congress walked out as a protest against the US Naval Government and to underscore its quest for a measure of self-government and US citizenship. The protest drew nationwide attention through the press, and thereafter fairly quick action by the US Congress and President Harry Truman.
Guam Congress Walkout Read Post »
Carlos Pangelinan Taitano (1917 – 2009) was one of the leaders from Guam who brought about the signing of the Organic Act for Guam. He arranged for the crucial media coverage of the Guam Congress Walkout of 1949 that led to CHamorus attaining US citizenship and civil government.
Carlos Pangelinan Taitano Read Post »
Some months before the end of the Pacific War, the US Navy impaneled a war crimes commission for Guam. The responsibility of the commission, a national one rather than an international one as at Nuremberg and Tokyo, was to bring to trial suspected Japanese and native war criminals.
US Navy War Crimes Trials in Guam Read Post »
The School Sisters of Notre Dame, commonly called the Notre Dame Sisters, are a consecrated community of religious women of the Catholic Church.
School Sisters of Notre Dame Read Post »
The first Guam members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly known as the Mormon Church, belonged to a military servicemen’s group that began meeting in 1950. Both military and civilian members began meeting in 1951 in a building rented in Harmon.
Mormon Church of Guam Read Post »
