# Can Texas Still Split Into Five States? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 9, 2003, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-texas-still-split-into-five-states/180571 "2003-06-09T02:23:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jerryasher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ea666f/32.png) [@jerryasher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jerryasher)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-texas-still-split-into-five-states/180571/1 "2003-06-09T02:23:17Z")
We were arguing on FARK the other night about mindless drivel. And then someone mentioned that Texas retains the right to split into five states. And google seems to reveal that may be the case, but the answer isn’t authoritative. > **[Urban Legends Store](https://shop.urbanlegends.com)** > > Shop exclusive music from the Official Urban Legends Store. As five states, the people in the five states areas would have much more power in the Senate and just as much power in the house. But politicians would be able to ruin fewer lives and so they would have less power. Can Texas still split into five states? ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-texas-still-split-into-five-states/180571/2 "2003-06-09T02:39:05Z")
Man, this is a popular question. See [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=159651&highlight=Texas). ---
**Author:** ![jerryasher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ea666f/32.png) [@jerryasher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jerryasher)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-texas-still-split-into-five-states/180571/3 "2003-06-09T02:50:08Z")
Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-texas-still-split-into-five-states/180571/4 "2003-06-09T02:50:16Z")
The linked thread in the previous post will give you more info than you probably want to hear about the subject. The short answer is “no.” BTW, welcome to the SDMB! –robby (native Texan) ---
**Author:** ![jerryasher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ea666f/32.png) [@jerryasher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jerryasher)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-texas-still-split-into-five-states/180571/5 "2003-06-09T02:53:49Z")
Thanks Robby, sorry about the answer, it would probably be kind of fun to have that power from time to time. Now what’s with this “Commonwealth” of Virginia I keep hearing about? ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-texas-still-split-into-five-states/180571/6 "2003-06-09T03:02:18Z")
Commonwealth is merely what the people of Virginia like to call their state. The federal Constitution provides that all states shall have a government in the form of a republic. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2003, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-texas-still-split-into-five-states/180571/7 "2003-06-10T05:36:14Z")
Isn’t there some difference between States and Commonwealths? Aren’t States governed by organizations that own property whereas Commonwealths are governed by organizations that are only stewards for the property without owning it? Growing up in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, I learned something like that, I thought… ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2003, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-texas-still-split-into-five-states/180571/8 "2003-06-10T06:11:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Napier \* > \*\*Isn’t there some difference between States and Commonwealths? \*\* No. A state is a state is a state under the US Constitution. Whether any particular state has “Commonwealth” in its title makes no difference. > [@](#): > > COMMONWEALTH - A commonwealth is properly a free state or republic, having a popular or representative government. The term has been applied to the government of Great Britain. It is not applicable to absolute governments. The states composing the United States are, properly, so many commonwealths. Source: [http://www.lectlaw.com/def/c259.htm](http://www.lectlaw.com/def/c259.htm) ---
**Author:** ![hazel-rah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/73ab20/32.png) [@hazel-rah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hazel-rah)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2003, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-texas-still-split-into-five-states/180571/9 "2003-06-10T12:03:29Z")
I’d say the better short answer is “yes, but so could any other state if they went through the same approval process in congress.” ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2003, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-texas-still-split-into-five-states/180571/10 "2003-06-10T14:14:27Z")
**Cecil Adams** on [Why is Virginia (and MA and PA and KY) called a commonwealth?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_307.html) ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2003, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-texas-still-split-into-five-states/180571/11 "2003-06-10T15:54:29Z")
When Texas was annexed by the United States, the anenxation act stated that the territory could be divided as many as four new states of the Union. But that was BEFORE Texas was admitted as one state. Point being, that once the United States acquired all this territory, it was unclear how they’d handle it. The annexation act left open the question of whether Texas would eventually be admitted into the Union as one big state or as several smaller states. But once Texas WAS finally admitted into the Union as a state, that was no longer an issue. The division of Texas into several smaller units was a possibility between Texas’ annexation and its admission into the Union. After that, it was never possible. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2003, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-texas-still-split-into-five-states/180571/12 "2003-06-10T16:12:49Z")
Well, it’s still possible, **astorian** , but would require the consent of Congress as well as TX. But the important point is that Texas’s righs in this regard are no different from any other state. ---
**Author:** ![Spiff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiff/32/9852_2.png) [@Spiff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiff)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2003, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-texas-still-split-into-five-states/180571/13 "2003-06-10T18:29:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bibliophage \* > \*\ ***Cecil Adams** on [Why is Virginia (and MA and PA and KY) called a commonwealth?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_307.html) \*\* FWIW, I am the person who asked Cecil that question. 🆒 Yep, 14.5 minutes of fame still to look forward to. I know that there’s no easy way to prove this, but nevertheless, it’s true.