Downes v. Bidwell

Downes v. Bidwell (1901) was a U.S. Supreme Court case concerning the status of territories acquired by the U.S., specifically Puerto Rico, after the Spanish-American War. The court ruled that the Constitution does not automatically apply to all U.S. territories, leading to the classification of certain areas as "unincorporated territories." This meant that they were not fully part of the U.S. and did not have the same constitutional rights as states. The decision impacted how the U.S. governed and treated its territories, shaping the legal relationship between the federal government and these regions.