Right to Democracy Briefing Will Ask What “Consent of the Governed” Means for U.S. Territories

As the United States prepares to mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Right to Democracy is convening a congressional briefing on June 4 to examine what “consent of the governed” means for residents of Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands. The briefing, titled What Does ‘Consent of the Governed’ Mean in U.S. Territories?, is being organized in coordination with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and members of Congress from several U.S. territories. It will bring together a bipartisan group of lawmakers and will include special guest Daniel Immerwahr, the New York Times bestselling author of How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States. Organizers say the briefing will provide members of Congress and their staff with historical background on the relationship between U.S. territories and the United States, using the Declaration of Independence as a central point of reference. “Two hundred...