The 51st State

The great thing about 50 is that it makes such a nice round number. Ever since Hawaii and Alaska joined the United States no other areas have been admitted. Despite this, there is no reason why more cant be added. When the original 13 colonies declared Independence, many people thought the country wouldn't expand beyond the Rocky Mountains - perceptions change over time. While Ive been here Ive been told about different proposals for the 51st State. Some serious, some seriously stupid. Heres a few:

State of Jefferson

I was told about this one from a guy on a bus. He made it out to be a serious thing, but then I found out how untrue that is. Jefferson State would be made up out of Southern Oregon and Northern California. It turns out that any serious effort for this was pretty much wiped out after Pearl Harbour. I was also advised it was the rural peoples way of gaining a bigger say, with the cities claiming most of both States resources. It turns out that the effort was a huge publicity stunt to draw attention to the crap roads they have.

Chances of happening: Null. Ive been on the roads there, they're fine.

District of Columbia

Theres no point in me mentioning that Washington D.C isn't part of a state. You already know that, right? Well, the car licence plates there all bare the slogan 'Taxation without Representation'. It turns out this is not just because of the history of the saying, but because they don't get any senators! 600,000 people live there now, and they don't have the rights of other American citizens.

The problem with this movement is that the Constitution states that the Capitol cant be one of the States. Having spoken to some friends from Carolina it seems much more likely that the government buildings and the mall will be cut off from the rest of the district, and Maryland will take all the remaining land back.

Chances of happening: Slim - though its likely one of the existing states will get larger.

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico has been occupied by America for a century. Similarly to DC, Puerto Ricans are full US citizens who have no congressional voting rights. The difference is that they don't pay federal income tax for the most part. Puerto Rico itself is split between fans of statehood and full independence. They've had numerous referendums, each of which fails to gain enough votes to change the current status quo.

Chances of happening: Pretty good! Both the Republicans and the Democrats support Puerto Rico's ability to make its own choice. If enough people vote for it this means that they will most likely be admitted as a State. The decision hangs in the balance...


There are others, but these are a few I found interesting. 50 being a nice number is no reason to refuse new states - they even prepared a flag:



One final note. My travels are drawing to a close, and I'm back in Blighty on the 1st April. This means the end of the blog is nigh! Don't panic though - theres plenty of stuff still to come, including Space Rockets! Republicans! Rodeo's! Racists! Elvis! and a Competition!