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Definition: Territory (sociology) from The SAGE Glossary of the Social and Behavioral Sciences

A defined geographical region (land or water) with varying levels of autonomy, over which another government exercises sovereignty. In some cases, territorial status may be in preparation for statehood. The Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa are current territories of the United States.


territory

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
in U.S. history, a portion of the national domain that is given limited self-government, usually in preparation for statehood. Territorial governments have been similar in form to those of the states, but have been subject to greater authority of the federal government. The Ordinance of 1787 , adopted by the Congress of the Confederation of the United States to create the Northwest Territory , furnished the basis upon which territorial governments were later organized under the Constitution of the United States. The Louisiana Purchase of 1803 raised the problem of the relationship of the United States to newly acquired domains—a subject treated vaguely in the Constitution of the United States. The Supreme Court, however, established the right of Congress to set up territorial governments and to admit territories to the Union. With the rapid westward expansion of the United States in the 19th cent., and the acquisition of large portions of land through treaty, purchase, and war, …
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Full text Article Territory

From World of Sociology, Gale
Territory is a particular geographic area or region of land and water under the control of a person or group . It is one’s property , province, domain, or sphere of interest or action for which one is responsible. It can be a tangible or a conceptual control or responsibility. A territory can be…
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Full text Article territory

From The Macquarie Dictionary
territories any tract of land; region or district. territories noun /'t8r7tri/, /'teruhtree/ /-t7ri/, /-tuhree/ Originally US /-tcri/, /-tawree/ territories the land and waters belonging to or under the jurisdiction of a state, sovereign, etc. territories noun…
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Full text Article Territories

From Dictionary of American Government and Politics
Territories are geographical and political units that are administered by the American government but are not part of any state. These territories were created to govern newly acquired land at a time when the borders of the United States were still evolving. Some territories, which were acquired…
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Full text Article territory

From The Chambers Dictionary
possessions in land; the whole, or a portion, of the land belonging to a state; (also with cap ) part of a confederation with an organized government but not yet admitted to statehood; (also with cap ) a dependency; a region; a jurisdiction; a field of activity; domain; an area in which an agent, …
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Full text Article territory

From The American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language
a. An area of land; a region. b. The land and waters under the jurisdiction of a government. c. A political subdivision of a country. d. A geographic region, such as a colonial possession, that is dependent on an external government: the territories of the Holy Roman Empire. often Territory…
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Full text Article territory

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
in U.S. history, a portion of the national domain that is given limited self-government, usually in preparation for statehood. Territorial governments have been similar in form to those of the states, but have been subject to greater authority of the federal government. The Ordinance of 1787 , …
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Full text Article territory

From Palgrave Macmillan Dictionary of Political Thought
Portion of the earth and its atmosphere which is such that it may fall under the jurisdiction of a sovereign state. Modern international law recognizes territorial claims over part of the sea, and over air space, but how far these claims extend or should extend is a constant source of dispute. …
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Full text Article Northwest Territories

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
territory (2001 pop. 37,360), 532,643 sq mi (1,379,028 sq km), NW Canada. The Northwest Territories lie W of Nunavut, N of lat. 60°N, and E of Yukon. Until 1999, when the Northwest Territories were divided and the eastern portion became Nunavut , the region occupied more than one third of Canada's…
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Full text Article Territory/Territoriality

From Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedias in Social Sciences: The Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Urban and Regional Studies
The terms “territory” and “territoriality” are used in urban studies in a range of ways, not always consistently. “Urban territory” is sometimes used as if the meaning should be evident; territorial terminology is often used to describe urban spaces or aspects of them. Yet the term territory is…
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Full text Article Northern Territory

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
territory (1991 pop. 132,780), 520,280 sq mi (1,347,525 sq km), N central Australia. It is bounded on the N by the Timor Sea, the Arafura Sea, and the Gulf of Carpentaria. Darwin is the territorial capital. In the north are lowlands, in the W central region is the Tanami Desert, in the southeast are…
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