Illustration by Christopher Short

America's 51st State?

Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico are pushing for statehood. But will Congress ever go along?

September 5, 2016

By Gabriel Charles Tyler

It’s been nearly six decades since Alaska and Hawaii joined the Union as the 49th and 50th states in 1959. Is it time for the U.S. to add another star or two to the flag?

That’s the question both Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico are asking Americans to consider in separate pushes for statehood that have gained some momentum recently.

For residents of the District of Columbia, it’s a question of fairness. Americans in D.C. serve in the U.S. military, sit on juries, and pay federal taxes just like everyone else. But because of the capital’s special status as a federal district, its residents don’t have voting representation in Congress, so they have no say in the nation’s laws. They also have limited control over their own affairs because any law passed by D.C.’s local government requires congressional approval.

That bothers Cheryl Liu, 19, who moved to D.C. from Hinsdale, Illinois, last year to attend Georgetown University. She’s now an active member of the group Students for D.C. Statehood.

“I thought it was a little bit ridiculous that citizens living here don’t have a voice in Congress, or control over their own affairs,” Liu says.

The Founding Fathers

D.C.’s second-class status goes back to America’s earliest days. The Founding Fathers thought it was important to keep the nation’s capital in a special federal district, and included a provision about it in the Constitution. They worried that if the capital were geographically within a state, that state might have undue influence over the federal government. When D.C. was established as the nation’s capital in 1790, only about 3,000 people lived in the 100-square-mile area that was carved out from Maryland and Virginia.*

But as Washington’s population grew over time (it now has about 675,000 residents—more than Wyoming or Vermont), residents began demanding more of a voice in their government. In 1961, the 23rd Amendment to the Constitution gave D.C. residents the right to vote for president for the first time. In 1970, D.C. received a nonvoting “delegate” in the House of Representatives. And in 1973, Congress allowed the District to form a local government with a council, a mayor, and other local agencies. But Congress still controls Washington’s budget and has to approve all its local laws.

Susan Walsh/AP Images

The lack of congressional representation is a focus of the current push for statehood, which would give D.C. full voting rights in Congress, with two senators and one representative in the House. Though some people argue that statehood for D.C. would require a constitutional amendment, most advocates say their plan is consistent with the Constitution. They want to retain a federal district consisting of places like the U.S. Capitol, the National Mall, and the White House, and to create a new state out of the residential areas. Since 2000, the slogan “Taxation Without Representation”—an allusion to the American Colonies’ grievances against the British in the late 1700s—has been stamped on D.C. license plates as a rallying cry for the statehood movement.

“This really gets to the heart of the American Revolution: that we should end taxation without representation,” says D.C. Councilmember Charles Allen.

Washington residents may soon have a chance to weigh in on statehood in a citywide referendum in November. Although Congress has final say over the admission of any new states, hopeful D.C. leaders already have settled on a name—New Columbia—and drafted a constitution for a 51st state.

Washingtonians aren’t the only ones agitating for statehood. Residents of Puerto Rico, a self-governing U.S. commonwealth since the Spanish-American War in 1898, are U.S. citizens. But the 3.7 million people living on the island, about 1,000 miles southeast of Miami, don’t have full constitutional rights. They can’t vote in presidential elections (except primaries), and they have only one, nonvoting, congressional delegate.

Puerto Rico’s ‘Yes’ Vote

Like D.C., Puerto Rico has had a statehood movement for nearly five decades. Four referendums have been held since 1967, and in 2012, for the first time, a majority of voters in Puerto Rico favored statehood in a nonbinding vote. Another referendum—the first funded by the U.S. government—is expected soon. If Puerto Rico votes yes again, it could bring its petition for statehood to the U.S. House and Senate, which would have final say.

Critics worry that statehood could be a burden because it would require residents of the island to pay U.S. federal taxes at a time when Puerto Rico’s economy is in deep crisis. But others think becoming a state could help it get more U.S. aid.

“For Puerto Rico to prosper, it should be treated equally. And to be treated equally, it must become a state,” says Pedro Pierluisi, Puerto Rico’s delegate in Congress.

But many experts say congressional approval is a long shot for D.C. and Puerto Rico, mainly for political reasons. Both houses of Congress are controlled by Republicans, who fear that residents of D.C. and Puerto Rico would send Democrats to Washington.

“Politically, that just won’t happen because it’ll change the political balance in the country,” says Roger Pilon, founder and director of the Cato Institute’s Center for Constitutional Studies.

Some opponents of D.C. statehood say residents of the nation’s capital should be absorbed into Maryland or Virginia. But D.C. officials largely oppose this idea.

“I don’t consider myself to be a Marylander or a Virginian,” says D.C. Councilmember Allen. “I consider myself to be a Washingtonian.”

Liu, the Georgetown University student, remains hopeful that Congress will see beyond the politics.

“This issue is about much more than residents in D.C. and Puerto Rico,” Liu says. “It’s about all Americans, because when you boil it down, it’s about civil rights and equality.”

Some statehood efforts that didn't pan out

Transylvania

In the 1770s, frontiersman Daniel Boone proposed a 14th colony in part of what is now Kentucky, but the Continental Congress said no. (sylvania means “pleasant, woodsy area.”)

Texlahoma

In the early 1900s, parts of northern Texas and western Oklahoma sought a new state (the name combined Texas and Oklahoma), hoping it would lead to the construction of better roads.

Absaroka

During the Great Depression, frustrated ranchers and farmers proposed a new state (named for a mountain range along the Montana-Wyoming border) to get more New Deal aid.