Posts Categorized: Paths to Statehood

Boundaries are not an issue for Puerto Rico — as an island or rather a group of islands, the territory has natural boundaries. But many of the territories that became… Read more »

32 territories have become states in the history of the United States. Their stories have included plenty of drama — conflicts over central philosophical concepts, religious differences, legal challenges, human… Read more »

The Territory of Michigan petitioned Congress for statehood in 1833, and Congress didn’t respond. This sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Puerto Rico has voted for statehood, and Congress has not yet… Read more »

Arkansas was part of the Louisiana Purchase, and became a territory in 1819. It became a state in 1836, seceded from the Union in the run up to the Civil… Read more »

The Louisiana Purchase of 1803 was the largest territorial annexation in U.S. history. Congress was more than a little overwhelmed by the challenge of governing a territory of such enormous… Read more »