Hi,
First of all, the U.S. Constitution briefly lays out the requirements
for becoming a state, as follows:
Article 4, Section 3:
"Section 3. New states may be admitted by the Congress into this
union; but no new states shall be formed or erected within the
jurisdiction of any other state; nor any state be formed by the
junction of two or more states, or parts of states, without the
consent of the legislatures of the states concerned as well as of the
Congress."
http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.articleiv.html#section3
So the short answer is that technically speaking all it would take is
an act of Congress -- that's a majority vote in both the House and
Senate -- to make any geographic entity (except for the District of
Columbia and parts of existing states) a state. Whether such a
statehood for Ontario would be recognized by Canada or anyone else is
another matter entirely.
As a practical matter, however, no territory is going to become a U.S.
state unless there is a consensus within that territory for statehood.
A history of the two newest U.S. states is instructive as to the
procedures that have been followed in recent years. These procedures
are not required by the Constitution or any law, but there is no
reason to believe that the precedents wouldn't be followed.
In Alaska, the formal drive for statehood began in 1946 with the
passage of a referendum (a vote by Alaska's residents) in support of
statehood. Officials of the territory took that as a go-ahead to push
for statehood, and a big step forward occurred in 1956 with voter
adoption in Alaska of a state Constitution that would go in effect if
statehood were ever approved. Congress passed a statehood bill in
1958, subject to approval by Alaska voters, and voters in Alaska gave
their final approval in November of that year. On Jan. 3, 1959, having
received official results of the state election, President Eisenhower
signed the proclamation to make Alaska a state.
A Brief History of Alaska Statehood
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~CAP/BARTLETT/49state.html
Alaska Statehood Act
http://www.lbblawyers.com/state1.htm
The history of Hawaiian statehood is somewhat similar. Residents of
Hawaii voted in favor of statehood in November 1950, although it
wasn't until March 1959 that the U.S. Congress approved statehood
(Alaska's newfound statehood apparently breathed life into Hawaii's
efforts). Again, Congress made statehood contingent on approval by
Hawaii's voters. Hawaiians approved the measure in June, making
Hawaii a state once the election results were certified.
Hawaii Statehood, August 21, 1959
http://www.hawaiischoolreports.com/history/statehood.htm
A Brief History of Hawaii
http://www.state.hi.us/about/history.htm
Hawaii Statehood Admissions Act
http://www.hawaii-nation.org/admission.html
As you may be aware, there has been talk in recent years of making
Puerto
Rico the 51st state (it is already U.S. territory, officially a
commonwealth). Congress if it chose could simply vote to make it a
state; however, recent U.S. presidents and congressional leaders have
made clear they wouldn't do so without a clear consensus among Puerto
Ricans. At this time, there is none, although statehood is frequently
an issue in commonwealth elections.
If past procedures were followed -- which would seem quite likely --
here's what would have to happen for any geographic entity to become a
state.
1. Residents of the region would have to come to a consensus that they
want to become a U.S. state and demonstrate that consensus in a public
vote.
2. Congress would have to approve an act designating statehood, and
such an act would send statehood to a vote of the people in the
proposed state.
3. The people would have to approve statehood.
Legally, only the first part of step 2 (passage of a statehood act) is
required by the Constitution. Practically, however, I can't imagine
statehood without the other steps taking place.
If we're talking about Ontario, things become a bit more complicated.
Politically, statehood wouldn't be possible unless Ontario were first
to secede from Canada and have that secession recognized by the United
States. Then the steps outlined above would have to happen. In theory,
Congress could simply vote now to make Ontario a state -- what a
ruckus that would cause! However, Congress for at least the past
century has never been quick to form a state, and there have been
considerable debates over the laws and existing policies in new
states. (Utah's statehood was delayed over the polygamy issue, and
Arizona's was delayed over the wish by leaders there to allow for
certain judicial elections.) Needless to say, statehood for any
territory that is now all or part of a foreign country would make for
some interesting politics.
I hope this answers your question. I certainly found it interesting
and enjoyed researching it.
Sincerely,
mvguy
Google search terms:
alaska statehood
://www.google.com/search?q=alaska+stateho
hawaii statehood
://www.google.com/search?q=hawaii+statehood
Related sites:
OntarioUSA
http://www.ontariousa.org/
Statehood for Quebec
http://members.aol.com/XPUS/Quebec.html
Alberta Residents League
http://www.albertaresidentsleague.com/ |
