800.014 Antarctic/7–148
The Under Secretary of State (Lovett) to the
Secretary of Defense (Forrestal)
secret
[Washington,] August 13, 1948.
My Dear Mr. Secretary: I refer to Secretary
Marshall’s letter of June 15, 1948 enclosing policy recommendations on
Antarctica1 and to your reply of July 1,
1948.2 The Department of State has now worked out a definition of the area
in Antarctica to be claimed by the United States. A copy is attached. It is
desired to obtain the concurrence of the National Defense Establishment with
this definition of the area. There is annexed also a map3 which shows the area
contemplated by the textual definition. It is not expected, however, that
any map will he issued or made public in connection with the announcement of
the official American claim. It will be noted, of course, that the claim is
not defined in terms of a sector.
In view of the conversations undertaken with the interested countries and the
pending release of a commercial film on an American naval expedition to
Antarctica, it is expected that there will be increasing publicity on this
subject and I should like as soon as possible to be prepared to announce the
American claim. It would therefore be appreciated if this matter could be
given urgent attention. Mr. Samuel W. Boggs, the State Department Geographic
Adviser, will make himself available if officers of the Defense Forces
desire to confer with him on the subject.
Sincerely yours,
[Page 1001]
[Enclosure]
Paper Prepared by the Department of State
secret
[Washington, undated.]
U.S. Territorial Claims in
Antarctica
The United States Government claims territory in the Antarctic regions
which are described below, on the basis of activities of citizens of the
United States who have participated in Antarctic expeditions over a
period of nearly 130 years. These claims are founded upon numerous
discoveries made by many expeditions, and upon extensive surveying and
mapping operations by sea, land, and air, covering a great portion of
the Antarctic coast and hundreds of thousands of square miles of
hinterland. They include large areas which have been explored or seen
only by members of expeditions supported from the United States, either
by the Government or privately; they also include large areas already
claimed by or on behalf of other countries, hut in which the
achievements of expeditions supported from the United States afford a
basis for territorial claims which are of such validity as fully to
justify claims by the United States.
The Antarctic territories claimed by the United States comprise the
following:
- 1.
- Between the meridians 35° W. and 135° W. of Greenwich and
between the parallels 68° S. and 81° S., all Antarctic mainland
and adjacent islands which have been explored or mapped by
United States expeditions, and areas completely encompassed
within areas explored and mapped only by such United States
expeditions, with the exception of those portions of the Palmer
Peninsula and all adjacent islands (including Charcot Island and
Alexander I Island), that had been previously actually seen and
mapped by expeditions of nationalities other than the United
States.
- 2.
- Between the meridians 135° W. and 140° E. of Greenwich, all
Antarctic territory which has been explored and mapped by United
States expeditions, but excluding all the area around the south
pole which was claimed for Norway by Roald Amundsen in 1911, and
those coastal areas actually seen and mapped previously by
expeditions of nationalities other than the United
States.
- 3.
- Between the meridians 140° E. and 13° E. of Greenwich, all
Antarctic territory which has been explored and mapped by United
States expeditions (all of which lies north of approximately 75°
south latitude), but excluding all coastal areas actually seen
and mapped previously by expeditions of nationalities other than
the United States.
