Unorganized Territory

An unorganized territory is a region of land without a "normally" constituted system of government. This does not mean that the territory has no government at all or that it is unclaimed territory. In practice, such territories have always been sparsely populated.

Historically, the term "unorganized territory" was applied to an area in which there was no effective government control of affairs on a day-to-day basis, such as the former U.S. territories where the government exerted only transient control when its forces were actually present. In modern usage it indicates an area in which no local government exists, or exists only in embryonic form. In such case, the territory is governed by the possessing nation or constituent unit.

The term has several denotations and connotations depending on the exact usage and context. These lightly governed regions were common in the 19th-century during the growth of United States. Large tracts such as the Louisiana Territory, Missouri Territory and the Oregon Country were established by Congress. Later, a portion of a territory would organize and achieve the requirements for statehood, leaving the remainder unorganized.