Proposed 52-star flag…just in case.
Sometime within the next year or so, both the Canadian province of Alberta and the Danish county of Greenland are slated to vote on their future political status within their respective nations.
If either of those political entities decide to saddle-up with the United States, there’s actually a number of ways they can become Americans… or at least, “sort of Americans” – imagine an Airbnb leased on a VERY long-term basis.
- Guam and the US Virgin Islands are organized, unincorporated territories of the United States. Sounds very confusing, but is sovereign US soil and the population are US citizens.
- American Samoa is an unorganized, unincorporated territory. Sounds even more confusing. Residents are US citizens.
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America, but not America. Washington, DC is a Compact Federal District. Lots of violence and corruption. Think “America’s Moldova.” We can only hope an earthquake hits, thusly flushing it down the Potomac. Residents are US citizens.
- The Northern Mariana Islands and Puerto Rico are both unincorporated territories of the United States, and both are in political unions in the forms of commonwealths. Both have quasi-independent status. They are fully sovereign soil of the USA, and the residents are US citizens.
- The US Minor Outlying Islands are nothing more than eight rocks/sandbars sticking out of the Eastern-Central Pacific Ocean and one in the Caribbean Sea. At best, a small handful of US Fish and Wildlife Service employees, military personnel, or a handful of contracted airfield service workers temporarily populate only Wake Island and Midway atoll, while Johnston Atoll is under the jurisdiction of the US Air Force. The total square miles of all nine islands and atolls are roughly 19 square miles.
- The Federated States of Micronesia; the Republic of the Marshall Islands; and the Republic of Palau are in something called the Compacts of Free Association (COFA) with the United States. Essentially, the US takes care of their national defense… the individual nations take care of everything else. Another interesting point, US tourists don’t need a passport to visit any of the COFA nations.
Of course, US citizens don’t need a passport or a visa to visit or reside in any US territory (with the exception of the uninhabited Minor Outlying Islands, permission is required from the US Fish and Wildlife Service).
Interestingly enough, according to the official website for the Department of the Interior, the COFA is renewed (or rejected) every 20-years. The citizens of those nations can also come to the States as “non-immigrants without visas” as long as the COFA is in effect. From what I’ve gathered, the only time a non-immigrant without visa request is ever rejected would be if your criminal record looks like you masterminded flying jet airliners into the Twin Towers.
I’m also under the impression that the COFA nations are kind of like America’s step-kids, but still in the will.
So, if Alberta and/or Greenland decide to join the US directly as a state, it just depends on how hard the federal government wants to push this though.
Both could be fast tracked, especially with Alberta probably going Republican; Greenland probably going Democrat. Both parties would be satisfied with equal representation in the US Senate.
Also, regarding statehood, the US Constitution covers that under Article IV, Section Three; “New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union…”
Unfortunately, nowhere in Article IV does it say by what fraction statehood depends upon. But GovTrack.com, notes that Hawaii was the most recent state to be admitted, with a Senate vote of 76-15 in favor (79.17%), the House approving with a 323 to 89 vote (78.66%).
One would think that Alberta and/or Greenland go down the path of gaining territorial or a commonwealth status, that would be pretty simple, especially since territories and commonwealths only get one delegate to the US House. But if they do go down this road, then they’re locked into the US for, well… forever.
Just me, but if I were Alberta or Greenland, I’d be salivating over a COFA agreement with the US. All the benefits of American protection, while having the option to cancel ties with the US on whatever timeline both parties agree upon.