Constitution Law Question, Expansionist States

[friedo]

I was perusing the US Constitution today (an activity in which everyone should partake once in a while) and came accross the section in Article IV governing the admission of new States:


Section 3. New states may be admitted by the Congress into this union; but no new states shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of any other state; nor any state be formed by the junction of two or more states, or parts of states, without the consent of the legislatures of the states concerned as well as of the Congress.

The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all needful rules and regulations respecting the territory or other property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to prejudice any claims of the United States, or of any particular state.


This section covers the conversion of federal territories into states (e.g. Lousiana Purchase and westward expansion) and the admission of foreign land as states (e.g. Texas), and the rejiggering of existing states. But a then a thought occured to me.

Nothing in the Constitution describes what should happen if some foreign land, which is not a federal territory or a state or a part of a state, wished to become part of an existing state. For example, say Bill Gates hires a mercenary army to go invade Cuba and topple Fidel's government, and the new government of Cuba decides it wants to become a posession of the State of Washington. Assuming the Evergreen State likes the idea, would such an action be Constitutional? Would the state need permission of Congress to claim the new territory?

[Publius]

A WAG here, but as states are constitutionally prohibited from conducting foreign policy I suspect that the foreign nation would first have to apply for admission to the Union as its own state, and then the two states would follow the constitutionally-mandated procedure for their own union. I think the scenario that you describe would constitute negotation between a foreign nation and a US state, which ought to be illegal.

[Blalron]

Originally posted by Publius
A WAG here, but as states are constitutionally prohibited from conducting foreign policy I suspect that the foreign nation would first have to apply for admission to the Union as its own state, and then the two states would follow the constitutionally-mandated procedure for their own union. I think the scenario that you describe would constitute negotation between a foreign nation and a US state, which ought to be illegal.

The foreign nation would probably become an American Territory for awhile before applying for admission for statehood.

Then, I'd assume, with the permission of Congress and the territorial government, it becomes a State.

Or, if New Cuba wants to be a part of Washington State, you would need the permission of the Territorial Government, Congress, and Washington to seal with deal.