evidence: On Dec. 8, 1859, to forestall a Haitian attempt to take possession of Navassa, a Caribbean island south of Cuba, U.S. Secretary of State Lewis Cass made a momentous decision. He officially recognized an American ship captain’s claim filed under the Guano Islands Act of 1856. [...] In his 1956 book Advance Agents of American Destiny, diplomatic historian Roy F. Nichols noted, "In this humble fashion, the American nation took its first step into the path of imperialism; Navassa, a guano island, was the first noncontiguous territory to be announced formally as attached to the republic." None have been under U.S. administration for a longer time. [...] Nine years later, Rep. William L. Dawson (R-IL) introduced "A bill to disclaim any rights of the United States to the island of Navassa," which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs in the House of Representatives.