Thread by @schomburgk7500

While we're on the topic, I want to remind people that Marie Byrd Land isn't "unclaimed" or no man's land, it's American 🇺🇸. Admiral Byrd and Lincoln Ellsworth both claimed the region on behalf of the US, but Congress has yet to formally recognize their claims.

American activity on the continent goes all the way back to 1820, when American sealer Nathaniel Palmer of Stonington, Connecticut, discovered the Antarctic Peninsula. Another American sealer, John Davis was likely the first man to have set foot on Antarctica.

In 1840, Captain Charles Wilkes (of the Trent affair fame) mapped and surveyed large swaths of the Antarctic coastline now claimed by Australia. Wilkes was the first to recognize the existence of an Antarctic continent.

Admiral Byrd explored much of Antarctica by air over the course of his expeditions. In 1929, he dropped the American flag at the South Pole. Members of his expeditions deposited documents staking claims at Supporting Party Mountain in 1929 and at Mt Grace McKinley in 1940.

Lincoln Ellsworth also was active in exploring Antarctica by air, being the first to cross the continent in an airplane in 1935. With the support of the State Department, he claimed the region between 80°W and 120°W and a region he christened the American Highland.

During Operation Highjump (1946-47), under instructions from the State Department, US Navy pilots dropped claim markers across Marie Byrd Land and Ellsworth Land, in addition to the South Pole, the coastal regions mapped by Wilkes, and the lands sighted by Palmer.

While Byrd was in favor of international cooperation in Antarctica, he also did not want the US to "give away its right to the largest portion of that continent" and hoped that a US claim would be made after a second Highjump expedition (which was ultimately cancelled).

In 1930 Senator Tydings of Maryland introduced a resolution to authorize the President to lay claim to all areas in Antarctica discovered or explored by Americans. The resolution was tabled, but did prompt the State Department to state it would not abandon American interests.

In the absence of Congressional action, the State Department defaulted to Secretary Hughes' position that only discovery followed by settlement could establish formal sovereignty. At the time year-round habitation in Antarctica was believed to be impossible.

In preparation for the International Geophysical Year (1957-58), Admiral Byrd led his last expedition to the continent, during which the US constructed 7 bases across the continent. Since then, the US has maintained a continuous presence in Antarctica.

The presence of 12 nations on the continent during the IGY increased tensions over the political status of the continent and led to the negotiation of the Antarctic Treaty, which essentially froze all claims on the continent.

Opposition to the treaty was significant, particularly regarding the status of US rights and claims as well as giving the Soviets a foothold on the continent. Opponents included Sens. Gruening (AK), Engle (CA), the Daughters of the American Revolution, and the American Legion.

Opponents wanted the US to formally assert and delineate its claims before the treaty be ratified. In the end, the US withheld from asserting its claims and the treaty was passed 66-21, just 8 votes short of failing.

Since the passage of the treaty, US activities in Antarctica have been conducted to maintain its pre-treaty rights and "basis of claim" on the continent, particularly by continual occupation of the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station.

While new claims are precluded while the treaty is in force, among the rights previously asserted by the US in 1958 was the "right to assert a territorial claim or claims". The USSR and later 🇧🇷🇺🇾 upon accession also made similar statements reserving their rights.

Russia recently discovered large oil fields in the Weddell Sea, in the British sector, and announced plans to develop them, threatening the fragile balance established by the treaty, which prohibits mining and oil drilling in Antarctica.

Russian withdrawal from the treaty would effectively end the existing regime and open up Antarctica to exploitation by any nation. In the event, the US must be prepared to assert its claim to protect its interests and ensure continued access to the continent.

A wise first step would be to delineate an official "zone of interest" which could be transformed into a formal claim upon the collapse of the Antarctic Treaty System. American priority to Marie Byrd Land is already tacitly recognized due to its extensive activities in the area.

A second important step would be for Congress to establish authority for the President to formally lay claim to the regions of Antarctica discovered and explored by Americans. Lacking this authority has previously hindered the US from making any substantive claims.

@jacobhelberg please look into this!