There was no foundation, politically, for an immediate movement towards an American model of government. The islands have been under colonial rule and did not know anything different.
At first everyone in the islands was enthused with the prospects and possibilities of joining the United States. After several years the population became discontent for a number of political reasons. One of the root problems was expressed by Isaac Dookhan, in The Search for Identity: "The basic premise is that the naval administration following a policy of Americanization and the traditional ruling class suffering from economic decline were unwilling to share their political power with any other class of Virgin Islanders." There were other issues at hand as well. The issue of citizenship became confounded, it turned out that the treaty provided citizenship only to those who were Danish citizens. By 1922 the Colonial Counsel sent Rothschild Francis with two other men to Washington D.C. because of the political and economic conditions on the islands. In 1924 a federal commission recommended that: U.S. citizenship is granted to Virgin Islanders, the courts are re-organized, the legislative system is centralized and an Organic Act is passed. The Federal governments answer to the economic issues was the establishment of the Departments of Labor, Commerce, and Agriculture. These changes, although not absolute nor a complete remedy for the problems of the Virgin Islands, marked a start in the right direction. A friend was found for Virgin Islanders in The Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Through the use of the media and congressional lobbying the plight of Virgin Islanders was made known to the continental United States. This had a positive effect in getting assistance and congressional legislation passed for the Virgin Islands.
The Navy being a military constabilitory was more equipped with running a military vessel rather than an American civilian population.