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Guam's American Culture
Home » Guam » Guam - The People and the Culture » Guam's American CultureThe American period in Guam actually has two parts, from 1898 to 1941 and then again from 1944 to the present. The end of the Spanish-American War saw the purchase of Guam from the Spanish by the United States for $20 million. When this happened, the 10,000 inhabitants of the island saw positive changes and improvements in areas including public health, education, land management, sanitation, and more. Other orders were given as well that changed some of the Guamanian lifestyle; for example, the liquor laws were changed, concubinage was outlawed, and it was mandated that every adult be able to write his or her own name. The positive effects of the United States on Guam were so appreciated by the Guamanians that they raised just over $700 in 1927 to present the Navy with a ship’s bell and plaque.
The return of the Americans following Guam’s fall to the Japanese in 1941 was marked by the deaths of many Japanese and Chamorros as well as the fall of cities. A three-week battle finally saw the reclamation of Guam by American administration in 1944. Then, in 1946 the Navy’s place in Guam was reinstituted. Guam is now a territory of the U.S. and is an important location for the U.S. military. The people of Guam have American Citizenship, and they flourish under the ability to accommodate many tourists every year as well as see new nationalities in residents. The visibility of the United State’s impact on Guam’s culture is, like that of the Japanese and the Spanish, obvious. Not only is one of the primary languages in Guam English, but also the lifestyles of the people and their unique heritage has threads of American society woven in.
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