51st state

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The term "51st state" in American political discourse refers to the idea of adding a new state to the Union, either by granting statehood to one of the U.S. territories, splitting an existing state, admitting another country, or granting statehood to Washington, D.C. This would increase the number of states in the United States from 50 to 51. The last state to be admitted was Hawaii in August 1959, preceded by Alaska, which became a state just months earlier in January 1959, and Arizona in February 1912.

Currently, there are two active statehood movements: one for D.C. and another for Puerto Rico. Four other U.S. territories – Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, and the United States Virgin Islands – have chosen to remain territories, and while statehood is a possibility, there are no active movements for it in those territories.

The latter part of this term also refers to its use as a phrase, rather than an actual political process.

Voters in the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have both voted for statehood in referendums.^[1][2][3] Their admission to the Union as states would require congressional approval.^[4] American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the United States Virgin Islands are other U.S. territories that could potentially become U.S. states.^[5] However, D.C. and Puerto Rico are the only ones with particularly active statehood movements. Guam voted in the 1980s against being a state, and the Northern Marianas joined the USA in 1986 as a Commonwealth; likewise, American Samoa has no statehood movement.

There are several different ways a 51st State could be created. These include granting a U.S. territory statehood (as happened with Alaska and many other states); a state could be split (Kentucky was created this way); or another republic could be annexed (as was Vermont for example). Finally, the Federal District may be able to be made into a State, though the legality of this is debated.

The phrase can be used in a positive sense, meaning that a region or territory is so aligned, supportive, and conducive with the United States that it is like a U.S. state, or in a pejorative sense, meaning an area or region is under excessive American cultural or military influence or control. People who believe their local or national culture has become too Americanized sometimes use the term in reference to their own countries.^[6] Before Alaska and Hawaii became states of the United States in 1959, the equivalent expression was "the 49th state".