We do not commonly think of the United States as a colonizing power, in the sense that Great Britain has been such, nevertheless the whole history of the American people has been a chronicle of colonization. From the Alleghenies to the Pacific ocean the march of settlement went steadily on for nearly a hundred years; lands were thrown open to settlers; territories were formed; and in the end each territory became a state.
Steps in admission to statehood.
The makers of the federal constitution had no idea, of course, that the union would ever become so large, but they did foresee that some day there would be more than thirteen states. Hence, they made provision in the constitution that new states might be admitted from time to time at the discretion of Congress. In keeping with this provision the usual first step is the sending of a petition to Congress from the people of the territory which seeks to be admitted. If Congress regards this petition with favor it passes an Enabling Act, which authorizes the people of the territory to draw up a tentative state constitution. This document, having been framed and ratified at the polls by the people of the territory, is then submitted to Congress. If Congress finds the constitution satisfactory, it may then, by resolution, declare the territory to be a state. Congress has been generous in granting full statehood to the home territories, in some cases even before they had acquired large populations, and this attitude has been wise. It has welded the country together as no other policy could have unified it.
The Newer Territories.—Down to 1867, therefore, the problem of territorial government was not difficult and it was always handled satisfactorily. |How the territories were governed.| Each territory was administered by a governor, who was appointed by the President, and by a territorial legislature which was elected by the people. Laws passed by the territorial legislature were subject to disapproval by Congress, but this right was seldom exercised. The people of the territories quickly showed their capacity to govern themselves and Congress let them alone. But after the Civil War and particularly after the Spanish War, territorial problems of a new sort arose. |The new insular territories.| In 1867 the United States purchased Alaska from Russia; in 1898 Porto Rico and the Philippines were acquired from Spain; in the same year Hawaii was annexed, and during the past quarter of a century other distant possessions (Samoa, the Panama Canal Zone, and the Virgin Islands) have been added.
Can they be admitted as states?
These acquisitions differ from the old territories in two respects; they are outside the regular national boundaries (in some cases far outside), and they contain for the most part populations which have not had much experience in self-government.[[92]] All have been given some form of territorial government; but the question is: Can they be ultimately admitted as states of the union? If they should be so admitted, they must be given exactly the same rights as all the other states. There is no such thing as partial or qualified admission. If Porto Rico or Hawaii should be admitted to statehood they will have exactly the same status as New York or Pennsylvania.
Future of these islands.
Three courses are open. First, these territories may be admitted in due course to full rights of statehood. In the case of Alaska, Hawaii, and Porto Rico this policy may be the one adopted if their populations are deemed to be large enough. Second, the existing form of territorial government may be continued indefinitely. This means that they would have a large measure of control over their own local affairs but not full control in the sense that the states have it. Third, they might be given their independence with a guarantee of American protection from outside enemies. In the case of the Philippines this is virtually what has been promised; but independence is not to be given until the islands prove entirely capable of governing themselves.[[93]] Apart from the Philippines none of these territories is asking for independence.[[94]]
The State Constitutions.—It has been pointed out that before any territory is admitted as a state it must frame a constitution. |State constitutional conventions.| This constitution is drawn, as a rule, by a constitutional convention composed of delegates elected by the people. Such a convention is called when a state enters the union and again whenever a general revision of the original document seems to be desirable. As a rule there is an interval of ten years or more between such conventions and sometimes an interval of thirty or forty years.[[95]] Due to differences in the growth and progress of the state a constitution may become out-of-date in one more rapidly than in another. If only slight alterations in the constitution are needed, it is not necessary or usual to call a convention. Individual amendments, as will be shown presently, can be made more easily.
What these Constitutions Contain.—These state constitutions are rather long documents, much longer than the constitution of the United States. In early days they were much shorter, but the state governments perform far more numerous functions today than they did fifty years ago. It has become the tendency, moreover, in recent years to cover many things in constitutions which formerly were left to be dealt with by acts of the legislature. This has meant a great lengthening of constitutional provisions.