51st state

:This article is about a hypothetical U.S. state. For the song, see 51st State. For the film, see The 51st State.

Potential candidates

Under Article IV, Section Three of the United States Constitution, which outlines the relationship between the states, the Congress has the power to admit new states to the union. The states are required to give "full faith and credit" to the acts of each other's legislatures and courts, which is generally held to include the recognition of legal contracts, marriages, and criminal judgments. The states are guaranteed military and civil defense by the federal government, which is also obligated to ensure that the government of each state remains a republic. New states are admitted into the Union by the precedents and procedures established by the Northwest Ordinance. Following the precedent established by the Enabling Act of 1802, an Enabling Act must be passed by Congress as a prerequisite to admission. The act authorizes the people of a territory to frame a constitution, and lays down the Congress's requirements that must be met before it will allow statehood.

Related Topics:
Article IV - United States Constitution - Full faith and credit - Legislatures - Court - Contract - Marriage - Military - Civil defense - Federal government - Republic - Northwest Ordinance - Enabling Act of 1802 - Enabling Act - Territory

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District of Columbia

:Main articles: D.C. Statehood and New Columbia

Related Topics:
D.C. Statehood - New Columbia

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The District of Columbia is widely recognized to be, along with Puerto Rico, one of the most likely candidates for statehood in the near future; this is because both are forms of unincorporated organized territories of the U.S, one being a commonwealth and the other a federal district. (See D.C. Statehood). Of the potential candidates, citizens of the District of Columbia, tend to be most supportive of statehood, yet this would likely require amendment of the United States Constitution. D.C. residents who support this movement sometimes use the Revolutionary War protest motto "Taxation without representation", denoting their lack of Congressional representation; the phrase is now printed automatically on all newly issued D.C. license plates, while for a fee (the usual "vanity plate" fee) a driver may choose to have the D.C. Web address printed instead. President Bill Clinton's presidential limo had the "Taxation..." license plate late in his term, while President George W. Bush quietly had the limo's plates changed shortly after beginning his term in office.

Related Topics:
District of Columbia - Puerto Rico - Unincorporated - Organized territories - Commonwealth - Federal district - D.C. Statehood - United States Constitution - Taxation without representation - Vanity plate - Bill Clinton - George W. Bush

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This position was carried by the D.C. Statehood Party, a minor party; it has since merged with the local Green Party affiliate to form the D.C. Statehood Green Party.

Related Topics:
D.C. Statehood Party - Green Party - D.C. Statehood Green Party

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The nearest this movement ever came to success was in 1978, when Congress passed the District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment. Two years later in 1980, local citizens passed an initiative calling for a constitutional convention for a new state. In 1982, voters ratified the constitution of the state, which was to be called New Columbia. The drive for statehood stalled in 1985, however, when the D.C. Voting Rights Amendment failed because not enough states ratified the amendment within the seven-year span specified.

Related Topics:
1978 - District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment - 1980 - Initiative - Constitutional convention - 1982 - Constitution - New Columbia - 1985 - Ratified

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Of course, another proposed option would be to have Maryland, from which the current land was ceded, retake the District of Columbia, as Virginia has already done for its part. This would give D.C. residents the benefit of statehood while precluding the creation of a 51st state.

Related Topics:
Maryland - Virginia

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Puerto Rico

:See also: Puerto Rican statehood movement

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Puerto Ricans for their part have repeatedly voted against statehood for themselves, believing they benefit more from the status quo, yet support for statehood has risen in each successive popular referendum over the past several decades.

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Other US territories

Other less likely contenders are Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, both of which are unincorporated organized territories of the United States, the Northern Mariana Islands, which is a commonwealth like Puerto Rico, and American Samoa, an unorganized, unincorporated territory. However, due to their very small populations, if granted statehood, the above territories would have an over-representation in Congress if they even had one representative.

Related Topics:
Guam - U.S. Virgin Islands - Unincorporated - Organized territories - Northern Mariana Islands - Commonwealth - American Samoa

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From current states

:Main article: List of U.S. state secession proposals

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It is constitutionally possible for new states to be formed by reorganizing current states. No state, however, may be formed within the jurisdiction of another, or by the joining of different states or parts of different states, without the consent of all state legislatures concerned.

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Another proposal has been for New York City to secede from New York State (See New York City secession). A similar circumstance has been proposed with the secession of Chicago from Illinois since over a half of the population of Illinois resides in the metropolitan area. Had World War II not intervened, it is possible that the counties of southern Oregon and northern California might have seceded from their respective states to form a new "State of Jefferson". Although often referred to as a possible 51st state, it would in fact have been the 49th, given that Alaska and Hawaii did not become states until 1959. Also there have been brief calls for a 51st state named the state of Lincoln in 1996, 1999, 2005. The state would be made of made of Eastern Washington and the Idaho Panhandle.

Related Topics:
New York City - New York State - New York City secession - Secession - Chicago - Illinois - World War II - Oregon - California - State of Jefferson - Alaska - Hawaii - 1959 - State of Lincoln - 1996 - 1999 - 2005 - Eastern Washington - Idaho Panhandle

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Similar junctions have attempted to take place in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, which some wish to secede in order to make the state called "Superior".

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From other countries

Because of their cultural similarities and close alliances with the United States, it is humorously said by some Americans that Australia, Canada or the United Kingdom are already the 51st state.

Related Topics:
Australia - Canada - United Kingdom

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Some British commentators have semi-seriously suggested that the UK should join the U.S., as it would thus become by far the wealthiest and most populous – and therefore the most politically influential state in the Union. The UK is the proposed 51st state in the movie of the same name – see The 51st State, however in reality this is a virtual impossibility politically (the British right-wing would oppose U.S. statehood on the same basis of loss of sovereignty as they oppose European Integrationalism, while the British left-wing is opposed to the dismantling of the welfare state and the involvement of religious groups in national politics.

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The UK has also recently been mentioned as the 51st state as a satire due to Tony Blair's strong support of President Bush in the involvement of the 2003 Iraq War.

Related Topics:
Tony Blair - President Bush - Iraq War

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