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The admission of new states into the United States by Congress (beyond the original thirteen states) is authorized by Article IV, Section 3, of the United States Constitution, the first paragraph of which says:
The Constitution went into effect on June 21, 1788, after ratification by 9 of the 13 states, and had been ratified by all 13 by May 29, 1790. Since then, 37 states have been admitted into the United States. Three of them—Kentucky, Maine, and West Virginia—were formed within what were undisputedly the boundaries of already existing states, and the very first state admitted—Vermont—was within what the state of New York claimed as its boundaries. That claim was never undisputed and at no time did New York succeed in enforcing its laws within Vermont, but Vermont was not admitted to the Union until the legislature of New York consented. Before the Constitution was in effect, the Articles of Confederation served as a constitution of the United States. The Articles of Confederation had a clause allowing colonies other than the 13 original states to be admitted with the consent of 9 states, and the Northwest Ordinance, passed by the unicameral Congress that existed at that time, provided that new states should ultimately be admitted within the Northwest Territory. However, no new states were admitted while the Articles of Confederation remained in effect. ==The process of admission== Most of the states admitted to the union after the original 13 have been formed within territories of the United States (that is, land under the sovereignty of the federal government but not part of any state) that were organized (given a measure of self-rule by the Congress subject to the Congress' plenary powers under the territorial clause of Article IV, sec. 3, of the U.S. Constitution). In some cases, an entire territory became a state; in others some part of a territory became a state (in particular, five whole states were formed within the Northwest Territory, the first organized incorporated territory of the United States: Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin; the territory also included what later became northeastern Minnesota). In most cases, the organized government of a territory made known the sentiment of its population in favor of statehood, usually by referendums. Congress then directed that government to organize a constitutional convention to write a state constitution. Upon acceptance of that constitution, Congress has always admitted that territory as a state. The broad outlines in this process were established by the Northwest Ordinance (1787), which predated the ratification of the Constitution. However, Congress has ultimate authority over the admission of new states, and is not bound to follow this procedure. A few U.S. states outside of the original 13 were never parts of organized territories of the federal government and have been admitted: * Vermont, an unrecognized but de facto independent republic until its admission in 1791.〔 The state of Vermont had been formed in 1777 within territory claimed by New York under a decision of King George III in 1764. The possible admission of Vermont was discussed at the Constitutional Convention when Article IV, Section 3 was being drafted. Vermont could not be admitted until the legislature of New York consented, and negotiations between Vermont and New York in 1788 and 1790 dealing with matters of money and boundaries needed to precede the admission of Vermont. * Kentucky, a part of Virginia until its admission in 1792.〔 The state of Virginia consented in 1790(1789? ) to the admission of Kentucky, and Congress passed a bill admitting Kentucky to the Union on February 4, 1791, but the admission did not take effect until June 1, 1792, because the politicians of Kentucky had asked for time to negotiate details of the state constitution. * Maine, a part of Massachusetts until its admission in 1820〔 following the Missouri Compromise. The legislature of Massachusetts consented to the admission of Maine in 1819. * Texas, a recognized independent republic until its admission in 1845〔 * California, created as a state (as part of the Compromise of 1850) out of the unorganized territory of the Mexican Cession in 1850 without ever having been a separate organized territory itself〔 * West Virginia: during the Civil War Virginia had two state governments, a Unionist one and a Confederate one, both claiming to be the legitimate state government of Virginia. West Virginia was created in 1863 by the Unionist state government from areas of western Virginia, after the Confederate state government's 1861 secession of Virginia to the Confederate States of America. Congress is also under no obligation to admit states even in those areas whose population expresses a desire for statehood. For instance, the Republic of Texas requested annexation to the United States in 1837, but fears about potential conflict with Mexico delayed the admission of Texas for nine years. Once established, most state borders have been generally stable. Exceptions include the formation of the Northwest Territory in 1787 and the Southwest Territory in 1790 from various portions of the original states, the cession by Maryland and Virginia of land to create the District of Columbia in 1791 (Virginia's portion was returned in 1847), and the creation of states from other states, including the creation of Kentucky and West Virginia from Virginia, and Maine from Massachusetts. However, there have been numerous minor adjustments to state boundaries over the years due to improved surveys, resolution of ambiguous or disputed boundary definitions, or minor mutually agreed boundary adjustments for administrative convenience or other purposes. One notable example is the case New Jersey v. New York, in which New Jersey won roughly 90% of Ellis Island from New York in 1998. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Admission to the Union」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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