Self-determination and Ethnicity in the U.S..

In its traditional usage, the idea of self-determination refers to the right of a group of people to sovereignty, independence, and self-government. The United States made such a claim in its Declaration of Independence from England. The idea has been incorporated into international treaties such as the covenant of the League of Nations and the charter of the United Nations. Since the end of World War II, more than a hundred countries around the world have achieved sovereign statehood through claims of self-determination, many having been former colonies of European states.