PREFACE


 As the only post-secondary educational institution in the Territory, the University
 of the Virgin Islands has a special responsibility to provide intellectual leadership to
 the community that it serves. This should not be done in a narrow partisan way, but
 through identifying issues central to the future development of our society. The
 intellectual resources of the University can focus attention on key issues, and also
 marshal the information and analysis required to resolve them successfully.

 Intellectual leadership can be displayed in several ways--through inspired
 classroom teaching, conferences, research, and publication. This compilation of
 historical documents represents a significant combination of scholarship, publication,
 teaching and public outreach.

 This publication is also the result of a serious scholarly effort on the part of
 academics who, with one exception, are all members of the faculty of the University of
 the Virgin Islands. They have produced a long over-due resource that will be utilized
 widely--locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. In addition, the publication is
 a collaborative effort that involved cooperation with planning committee members from
 government agencies and the general public. Perhaps most importantly, the results of
 the research will be widely disseminated to both secondary and post-secondary
 institutions and increase students' knowledge of the political and constitutional
 development of our society.

 As President of the University of the Virgin Islands, I am committed to an active
 leadership role for the institution. We need to direct our intellectual resources toward
 the development of a community prepared to face the challenges of the future,
 equipped with the information base that will make this possible. Only by
 understanding where we came from can we consider intelligently where we should go.

 I welcome the publication of Major Political and Constitutional
Documents of the United States Virgin Islands and congratulate the planning
committee on a job well done. I look forward to other projects of this type that will
demonstrate the special leadership role of the University ofthe Virgin Islands and its
dedication to the welfare of our community.




 Orville E. Kean, President
 University of the Virgin Islands