Democracy: Samoan Style

The United States does not consider itself an imperialistic power. As President Truman said:... we don not seek for ourselves on inch of territory in any place in the world. Outside of the right to establish necessary bases for our own protection, we look for nothing which belongs to any other power....We believe that all peoples who are prepared for self-government should be permitted to choose their own form of government by their own freely expressed choice, without interference from any foreign source.In actual practice also, the United States has shown itself quite ready to grant its territories self-government in various forms.