SECTION III.—NEW STATES AND TERRITORIES.
Clause 1.—The Admission of New States.
New states may be admitted by the congress into this Union;[1] but no new state shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of any other state;[2] nor shall 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.[3]
[1] These few words mark an era in political history. Heretofore nations had acquired new territory merely to enlarge the extent of their provinces or subject states, never with a view of uniting the acquired territory with the original system, allowing it equal political privileges. But when we look at the matter carefully, we shall see that our government could not consistently do otherwise than it did. The proposition involved in the revolution was that new territory should either be permitted to enjoy equal privileges with the parent state, or it should become independent.
But it was not simply to carry out a political theory that this provision was made; it was to solve a practical difficulty. At the close of the Revolutionary War, the United States extended west to the Mississippi river. The territory west of the Alleghany mountains contained almost no inhabitants, and was of course unorganized. This territory became the object of contention. Some of the states claimed jurisdiction over it, while others maintained that it was not within the limits of any states, and that, as it had been secured by a war waged by the general government, this territory should be considered common property, to be managed by the general government. The states having claims upon the territory expressed a willingness to relinquish them upon the condition that the territory should be formed into states as soon as the population would warrant. Accordingly, before the constitution was framed all these states except North Carolina and Georgia had relinquished their claims, and all but a small portion of the territory was under the jurisdiction of the general government. And July 13, 1787, that portion of the country west of Pennsylvania and north of the Ohio, had been organized into the Northwest Territory. This act of congress is generally known as The Ordinance of 1787. It was for a long time the model upon which other territories were organized.
[2] This shows the fear entertained lest the general government should try to control a state by threatening its existence.
[3] Vermont was claimed by both New York and New Hampshire. Both consented to her admission.
Kentucky was a part of Virginia, and became a state with her consent.
Maine became a state with the consent of Massachusetts, of which it had been a part.
West Virginia was admitted during the war, the consent of Virginia being obtained afterwards.
Clause 2.—The Territories.
The congress shall have power to dispose of and make all needful rules and regulations respecting the territory or other property belonging to the United States;[1] and nothing in this constitution shall be so construed as to prejudice any claims of the United States, or of any particular state.[2]
[1] The power to acquire territory is not expressly granted in the constitution, but it is implied as an act of sovereignty. Territory was acquired by the general government before the constitution by cession from states, and since the adoption of the constitution it has been acquired by purchase, by discovery, by conquest, and by annexation.
The power to dispose of territory is also an attribute of sovereignty, and would have belonged to the general government without this provision. But this provision places the power in the hands of congress; otherwise land could be sold by the treaty-making power. Under this provision congress receded to Virginia that portion of the District of Columbia south of the Potomac.
The power to govern any territory which it possesses is also an attribute of sovereignty. This clause gives the power to congress; but any law for the regulation of territories needs the president's signature, the same as any other law.
[2] It will be remembered that North Carolina and Georgia had not at the time of the adoption of the constitution relinquished their claims to certain territory lying outside of their state limits. This provision was made as a concession to them. But they afterwards, North Carolina in 1790 and Georgia in 1802, ceded the disputed territory to the United States.