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riiano wrote:Texas joined the United States by treaty (was never a territory). Went from the republic of Texas to the state of Texas!

More precisely, or more pedantically if you prefer, Texas joined by joint resolution, not by treaty.

There were two treaties proposed to annex Texas, but neither one of them was accepted by the US. Instead, Congress passed a joint resolution laying out the terms of admission, and Texas voted to accept the terms.

TAM,

It was in the US law that annexed Texas to the Union, not in in Constitution. That's why I say it was a limitation on Texas. Think how many states you could make out of Texas if they were all the size of Delaware. (Of course there has to be some reasonable population to go with them.)

Recall this was 1845/46, when the slavery issue was heating up. Apparently some were concerned that if a territory as large as Texas was annexed it could subsequently be split into many states -- perhaps swinging the balance of power between slave and non-slave states. (However, the US's impetus for annexing Texas was not pro- or anti-slavery, but that the British were sniffing around in the west, trying to limit US expansion). So part of the joint resolution of congress that authorized the annexation of Texas limited the number of (additional) states that could be formed to four, with ones below the "Missouri compromise line" able to choose to be free or slave states, and ones north of the line to be free states only.

The text:

Third- New states, of convenient size, not exceeding four in number, in addition to said state of Texas, and having sufficient population, may hereafter, by the consent of said state, be formed out of the territory thereof, which shall be entitled to admission under the provisions of the federal constitution. And such states as may be formed out of that portion of said territory lying south of thirty-six degrees thirty minutes north latitude, commonly known as the Missouri compromise line, shall be admitted into the Union with or without slavery, as the people of each state asking admission may desire. And in such state or states as shall be formed out of said territory north of said Missouri compromise line, slavery, or involuntary servitude, (except for crime,) shall be prohibited.

The entire joint resolution is here: http://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/texan01.asp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

seamusTX wrote:Article IV, section 3 of the Constitution allows for the admission of new states and the splitting or unification of existing states. The Constitution is silent on the issue of secession from the United States.

- Jim

A lot of people don't realize that. Periodically that provision of the law that annexed Texas to the US, the one that says Texas can split into five states, pops up in various forums, but the posters don't seem to realize that was not a special grant of power, it was a limitation on what Texas could do under Article IV Section 3. I.e. it could split off no more than four new states.