United States takes control of Midway Island

Legal Framework. The Guano Islands Act, enacted in August 1856, enabled U.S. citizens to take possession of unclaimed islands containing guano deposits in the name of the United States. The law required that islands be unoccupied by other governments and allowed the President to use military force to protect these interests. This legislation established criminal jurisdiction within claimed territories, providing the legal basis for the acquisition of Midway Atoll.

Formal Possession. Midway Atoll was sighted in 1859 by Brooks of the sealing ship Gambia, who claimed it for the United States under the Guano Islands Act of 1856. It was assumed at the time that Midway was independently acquired by the United States when Captain William Reynolds of USS Lackawanna visited in 1867, and thus not part of the Hawaii Territory. Formal possession was taken on August 28, 1867, by Captain William Reynolds of USS Lackawanna. Unlike the rest of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, Midway is not part of the State of Hawaii due to the Hawaiian Organic Act of 1900.

Territorial Distinction. Midway Atoll is an unorganized and unincorporated territory of the United States. It is the only part of the Hawaiian Islands not part of the State of Hawaii. The Hawaii Admission Act of 1959 specifically excluded Midway from the state's jurisdiction, clarifying its status as a separate insular area grouped among the United States Minor Outlying Islands.