Guam Organic Act of 1950 - The Guam Assembly "walkout"

The Guam Assembly "walkout"

The issue of local authority came to a head in February 1949, when Abe Goldstein, a civil service employee of the U.S. Navy, was subpoenaed by the Guam Assembly. Goldstein allegedly was one of a number of people in violation of a prohibition against Americans owning local businesses. Goldstein and others were accused of using Guamanian "front men" to finance the local businesses. Goldstein, however, refused to testify, having received unofficial support from Naval Governor Charles Alan Pownall (1949-1953). Pownall had vetoed the power of the Guam Assembly to subpoena Americans in October 1948.

When Goldstein refused to testify, the Guam Assembly declared him guilty of contempt and issued a warrant for his arrest. Governor Pownall then intervened and halted execution of the warrant by the Guam Police Department. Angered and frustrated by what they saw as a lack of respect and authority, the Guam Assembly walked out en masse on March 6, 1949. Governor Pownall ordered them to return, but when the assemblymen refused, he dismissed them.

This dramatic encounter received international attention and widespread publicity (through the help of Assemblyman Carlos P. Taitano) that generated a great deal of support for self-government and U.S. citizenship for the people of Guam. Though the Assemblymen were later reinstated by Governor Pownall, U.S. citizenship and some form of self-government had already become a foregone conclusion.