Name: What Does “Consent of the Governed” Mean in U.S. Territories?
Start: 2026-06-04T12:00:00-04:00
End: 2026-06-04T13:00:00-04:00
Location: The U.S. Capitol Visitor Center

$What Does \u201cConsent of the Governed\u201d Mean in U.S. Territories?$

It's been 250 years since "consent of the governed" was proclaimed as fundamental. 3.6 million people in U.S. Territories are still waiting.
About this Event

What Does “Consent of the Governed” Mean in U.S. Territories?

Please join Right to Democracy in coordination with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, Congressman Pablo José Hernández (D-PR), Congresswoman Kimberly King-Hinds (R-NMI), Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett (D-USVI), and Special Guest Daniel Immerwahr, NYT Bestselling Author of How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States, for a bipartisan congressional briefing to learn how 1776 informs the federal-territorial relationship today.

In 1776 – 250 years ago – the United States declared its independence and rejected the idea of colonial rule. It established “the consent of the governed” and “all created equal” as its foundational values. Yet, for the last 125 years, as a result of the Supreme Court’s decisions in the Insular Cases, the United States has denied democracy, equity, and self-determination to people in overseas U.S. territories. This impacts not just the 3.6 million people who live in these island communities, but also a territorial diaspora of over 6 million. What does “consent of the governed” mean today for people in Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands?

Join us for a congressional briefing that will explore the current relationship between U.S. territories and the United States through the lens of the Declaration of Independence. Hear from community leaders in each Territory about how their day-to-day lives are impacted by decisions made by the federal government without their say, much less consent. Understand how discriminatory federal programs increase the cost-of-living, forcing many to leave their communities altogether. And what lessons can people in U.S. territories, who live on the front lines of threats to the environment, democracy, and national security, teach everyone in the United States?

Capitol Visitors Center Room 209-08.

RSVP is required for non-congressional attendees, who should build in 30-45 minutes for security. Prohibited items and more info on security available at https://www.visitthecapitol.gov/visit/know-before-you-go