when did the us acquire the us virgin islands
History of the United States Virgin Islands In 1917 a treaty was concluded in which the United States purchased the islands for $25,000,000 (about $390,000,000 in 2010 dollars)[citation needed]. After the United States bought what is now known as the United States Virgin Islands from the Danish, the islands became an unincorporated U.S. territory. Most residents were granted U.S. citizenship in 1936, and an act of 1932 provided that all natives of the Virgin Islands who on the date of the act were residing in the continental United States or any of its insular possessions or territories were U.S. citizens. The islands remained under the direct control of the U.S. government until 1968, when residents were first allowed to elect their own Governor (previously, governors had been appointed first by the navy, then by the interior department). In 1972, residents elected their first non-voting delegate to congress.
Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands Saint Thomas (Spanish: Santo Tomás; Dutch: Sint-Thomas; Danish: Sankt Thomas) is one of the Virgin Islands in the Caribbean Sea and, together with St. John, Water Island and St. Croix, form a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), an unincorporated territory of the United States. Located on the island is the territorial capital and port of Charlotte Amalie. As of the 2010 census, the population of Saint Thomas was 51,634[2] about 48.5% of the US Virgin Islands total. The district has a land area of 32 square miles (83 km2).[3]