51st state, in American political discourse, is a phrase that refers to areas either seriously or derisively considered candidates for addition to the 50 states already part of the Union. Before 1959, when Alaska and Hawaii joined the U.S., the term "the 49th state" was used.

"51st state", when used in a negative sense, can refer to independent nations which are, or are perceived to be, under excessive American influence or control. In Australia, Canada, Japan, Israel, Latin America (especially Puerto Rico, which is a U.S. territory), the Caribbean, Pacific Island countries, Europe (especially the United Kingdom), and parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, people who believe their local and/or national culture has become too Americanized sometimes use the term "51st state" in critical reference to their respective countries. The term 51st stater usually refers to non-U.S. residents who emulate mannerisms and culture of an American, or a non-American politician who is a supporter of the United States, especially its foreign policy, to a degree viewed as excessive.

Legal requirements

Under Article IV, Section Three of the United States Constitution, which outlines the relationship among the states, Congress has the power to admit new states to the union. The states are required to give "full faith and credit" to the acts of each other's legislatures and courts, which is generally held to include the recognition of legal contracts, marriages, and criminal judgments. The states are guaranteed military and civil defense by the federal government, which is also obligated by Article IV, Section Four, to "guarantee to every state in this union a republican form of government." New states are admitted into the Union by the precedents and procedures established by the Northwest Ordinance. Following the precedent established by the Enabling Act of 1802, an Enabling Act must be passed by Congress as a prerequisite to admission. The act authorizes the people of a territory to frame a constitution, and lays down the requirements that must be met prior to consideration for statehood.

Possible candidates from the United States

District of Columbia

The District of Columbia is often mentioned as a likely candidate for statehood. In Federalist No. 43 of the Federalist Papers, James Madison considered the implications of the definition of the "seat of government" found in the United States Constitution. Although he noted potential conflicts of interest, and the need for a "municipal legislature for local purposes," Madison did not address the district's role in national voting. At the time, some believed that giving the district full voting rights would be like giving Congress its own separate vote, increasing its power at the expense of the citizens. However, the city's population has grown to almost 600,000 people (larger than Wyoming's and comparable to those of several other states—ignoring that the District has no rural areas), and the calls for suffrage have increased.

Of the potential candidates, citizens of the District of Columbia tend to be most supportive of statehood, yet this would require amendment of the United States Constitution. D.C. residents who support this movement sometimes use the Revolutionary War protest motto "Taxation without representation," denoting their lack of Congressional representation; the phrase is now printed on newly issued D.C. license plates (although a driver may choose to have the D.C. website address instead). President Bill Clinton's presidential limousine had the "Taxation without representation" license plate late in his term, while President George W. Bush had the vehicle's plates changed shortly after beginning his term in office.

This position was carried by the D.C. Statehood Party, a minor party; it has since merged with the local Green Party affiliate to form the D.C. Statehood Green Party. The nearest this movement ever came to success was in 1978, when Congress passed the District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment. Two years later in 1980, local citizens passed an initiative calling for a constitutional convention for a new state. In 1982, voters ratified the constitution of the state, which was to be called New Columbia. The drive for statehood stalled in 1985, however, when the D.C. Voting Rights Amendment failed because not enough states ratified the amendment within the seven-year span specified.

Statehood will likely remain a highly contentious political issue due to the political demographics of the city. D.C. has long voted overwhelmingly Democratic, and the addition of another state would likely guarantee two Democratic Senators in a closely divided Senate.

Another proposed option would be to have Maryland, from which the current land was ceded, retake the District of Columbia, as Virginia has already done for its part, while leaving the National Mall, the United States Capitol, and the White House in a truncated District of Columbia, thereby preventing any Congressional favoritism toward any state (as was the Founders' reason for the District in the first place). This would give D.C. residents the benefit of statehood while precluding the creation of a 51st state.

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico statehood referenda have been consistently, though narrowly, unsuccessful. In each referendum, statehood supporters are matched almost equally by supporters of maintaining the status quo (the balance of the votes being cast by supporters of full independence), although support for statehood has risen in each successive popular referendum.If Puerto Rico were a U.S. state, it would rank 27th in population, and have six seats in the House of Representatives. Puerto Rico has been under U.S. sovereignty for over a century and Puerto Ricans have been U.S. citizens since 1917; but the island’s ultimate status still has not been determined and its 3.9 million residents still do not have voting representation in their national government. Puerto Rico currently has limited representation in Congress in the form of a Resident Commissioner, a nonvoting delegate, and the current Congress had returned the Commissioner's power to vote in the Committee of the Whole, but not on matters where the vote would represent a decisive participation. Puerto Rico has elections on the United States presidential primary or Caucus of the Democratic Party and the Republican Party to select delegates to the respective parties national conventions although presidential electors are not granted on the Electoral College.

Contrary to common misconception, residents of Puerto Rico pay some U.S. federal taxes: import/export taxes, federal commodity taxes, social security taxes, etc. Most residents do not pay federal income tax but pay federal payroll taxes (Social Security and Medicare). However, federal employees, or those who do business with the federal government, Puerto Rico-based corporations that intend to send funds to the U.S. and others also pay federal income taxes. Puerto Ricans may enlist in the U.S. military. Puerto Ricans have fully participated in all U.S. wars since 1898. All persons born in Puerto Rico after 1941 are legally natural born citizens of the United States, one of the constitutional requirements to be President of the United States.

President George H. W. Bush issued a memorandum on November 30, 1992, to heads of executive departments and agencies establishing the current administrative relationship between the Federal Government and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. This memorandum directs all Federal departments, agencies, and officials to treat Puerto Rico administratively as if it were a State insofar as doing so would not disrupt Federal programs or operations. On December 23, 2000, President Bill Clinton signed executive Order 13183, which established the President's Task Force on Puerto Rico's Status and the rules for its membership. Section 4 of executive Order 13183 (as amended by executive Order 13319) directs the Task Force to "report on its actions to the President ... on progress made in the determination of Puerto Rico's ultimate status." President George W. Bush signed an additional amendment to Executive Order 13183 on December 3, 2003, which established the current co-chairs and instructed the Task Force to issue reports as needed, but no less than once every two years.

The statehood position is carried by the New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico. Both the Democratic Party and Republican Party, in their respective 2008 party platforms, have expressed their support of the rights of the United States Citizens in Puerto Rico to determine the destiny of the Commonwealth to achieve a future permanent non-territorial political status with government by consent and full enfranchisement.

The Republican Party platform of 2008 says:

We support the right of the United States citizens of Puerto Rico to be admitted to the Union as a fully sovereign state after they freely so determine. We recognize that Congress has the final authority to define the constitutionally valid options for Puerto Rico to achieve a permanent non-territorial status with government by consent and full enfranchisement. As long as Puerto Rico is not a state, however, the will of its people regarding their political status should be ascertained by means of a general right of referendum or specific referenda sponsored by the U.S. government.

The Democratic Party platform of 2008 says:

We believe that the people of Puerto Rico have the right to the political status of their choice, obtained through a fair, neutral, and democratic process of self-determination. The White House and Congress will work with all groups in Puerto Rico to enable the question of Puerto Rico's status to be resolved during the next four years.

Its population in the 2000 census was 3,927,776. (Kentucky ranked 26th, with 4,206,074, and Oregon ranked 27th, with 3,700,758.)

Other/former U.S. territories

Other less likely contenders are Guam and the United States Virgin Islands, both of which are unincorporated organized territories of the United States, although the latter could merge with Puerto Rico due to their proximity (although they have very different histories, cultures & languages). Also the Northern Mariana Islands, which is a commonwealth like Puerto Rico, and American Samoa, an unorganized, unincorporated territory could attempt to gain statehood. Some proposals call for the Virgin Islands to be admitted with Puerto Rico as one state (often known as the proposed "Commonwealth of Prusvi," for Puerto Rico/U.S. Virgin Islands), and for the amalgamation of U.S. territories or former territories in the Pacific Ocean, in the manner of the "Greater Hawaii" concept of the 1960s. Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands would be admitted as one state, along with Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Marshall Islands (though these latter three entities are now separate sovereign nations, which have Compact of Free Association relationships with the United States). Such a state would have a population of 441,171 (slightly lower than Wyoming's population) and an area of 911.82 square miles (slightly smaller than Rhode Island). American Samoa could possibly be part of such a state, increasing the population to 506,040 and the area to 988.65 square miles, or it may become a county of Hawaii. Radio Australia, in late May 2008, issued signs of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands becoming one again and becoming the 51st state.

Location	Population	Area (sq. mi.)	Comments
Puerto Rico	3,994,259	3,514	July 2007 estimate
United States Virgin Islands	112,000	133.73	July 2005 estimate
Total	4,106,259	3,647.73	Puerto Rico & U.S. Virgin Islands

Location	Population	Area (sq. mi.)	Comments
Palau	19,907	177	July 2005 estimate
Northern Mariana Islands	80,801	184.17	July 2005 estimate
Marshall Islands	61,963	69.8	July 2005 estimate
Guam	175,877	209.85	July 2008 estimate
Federated States of Micronesia	108,500	271	July 2006 estimate
Subtotal	441,171	911.82	Former Trust Territories + Guam
American Samoa	64,869	76.83	July 2006 estimate
Total	506,040	988.65	Former Trust Territories + American Pacific

From current U.S. states

• The State of Sequoyah was a proposed state. It would have consisted of what is now eastern Oklahoma.

• The California State Senate voted on June 4, 1965, to divide California into two states, with the Tehachapi Mountains as the boundary. Sponsored by State Senator Richard J. Dolwig (D-San Mateo), the resolution proposed to separate the 7 southern counties, with a majority of the state's population, from the 51 other counties, and passed 27-12. To be effective, the amendment would have needed approval by the State Assembly, by California voters, and by the United States Congress. As expected by Dolwig, the proposal did not get out of committee in the Assembly. A previous proposal to this effect was advanced in 1860, but was tabled due to the American Civil War and never revived.

• There have been brief calls for a 51st state named the State of Lincoln in 1996, 1999, and 2005. The state would be made of Eastern Washington and the Idaho Panhandle.

• The proposal for New York City secession would separate Downstate New York, containing New York City, from the more conservative, and rural upstate New York. It has seen supporters from both upstate (Randy Kuhl) and downstate (Peter Vallone, Jr.) but has never built enough momentum to pass.

• Long Island has considered separating itself from the rest of New York due to claims of paying higher taxes and receiving less in aid and benefits compared to the more rural sections of upstate New York and in some cases New York City. On May 12, 2009, legislators from Suffolk County passed a home rule resolution calling for a study and referendum on the merits of Long Island seceding from the state.

• A movement to have Eastern Oregon secede and become the 51st state was underway in 2008. The proposed state line would stretch from east of the Cascade Mountains to the Idaho border.

• Similar junctions have attempted to take place in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, which some wish to secede (sometimes along with adjoining counties of northern Wisconsin) to make a state called "Superior."

• On January 15, 2008, Utah State Representative Neal Hendrickson introduced a joint resolution consenting to the creation of a new state. The proposed resolution - intended to be sent to the U.S. Congress - would support secession of all lands south of the Utah County border to create the new state. The Utah House of Representatives tabled the resolution on March 5, 2008.

• In January 2008, columnist, Bill Shipp wrote an editorial urging the creation of two Georgian states. This proposal in the article was largely attributed to a severe drought and concerns of the water rights enfringement of citizens in southern Georgia by politicians and officials from the Metro Atlanta area and North Georgia. Shipp went on to advocate a creation of North and South Georgia as two separate states to prevent Northern Georgia from encroaching on those water rights.

• Though no proposal has ever been made in its legislature, the various disputes between residents of Clark County and the rest of Nevada (such as the distribution of water, electricity, tax money, and political influence, as well as moral and political differences) have led to talk among the people of dividing the state. Clark County is home to most of the state's population, and being dependent upon the casinos of Las Vegas, is generally far more liberal politically. The rest of the state (although having casinos of its own) is comprised mostly of small rural communities, and is generally a lot more conservative. The clashing interests from both sides have created a lot of tension.

• For years, residents and businesses of Northern Virginia have complained that their region, which has about a third of the state's population, sends about half its tax revenues to the State and gets back only 25 cents on the dollar. Some residents argue that Northern Virginia is part of the state in name only, saying that the region is so different from the rest of Virginia, it’s as though the New Jersey suburbs were grafted onto South Carolina. This situation has led some to propose that northern split into the separate state of Northern Virginia. More recently, John McCain adviser Nancy Pfotenhauer created a minor controversy making a distinction between northern Virginia and “real Virginia,” which she said is the “part of the state that is more Southern in nature...”

• When Texas entered the union in 1845, it was with the understanding that it could divide itself into four additional states. This is reflected in the Joint Resolution Annexing Texas to the United States, though this is still unclear because of the unclear and disputed borders of Texas, the fact that some of the original territory of Texas may already be a part of a few southwestern states, and the fact that Texas' readmission into the Union in 1870 superseded the Ordinance of the Convention of Texas.

Use internationally

Because of their cultural similarities and close alliances with the United States, it is said in jest that some countries are the 51st state. In other countries, movements with various degrees of support and seriousness have proposed U.S. statehood.

North America

Canada

In Canada, "the 51st state" (or sometimes "the Maple Leaf state") is an emotional trigger phrase generally used in such a way as to imply that if a certain political course is taken, Canada's destiny will be to become "the 51st state."

The implication is not without historical basis, going as far back as the American invasion of Canada during the American Revolution and the failure of the American government to act promptly to limit the Fenian raids. There is even some indication that U.S. President Andrew Johnson may have given his tacit approval to the early raids, saying that he would "recognize the accomplished facts," implying that if the Fenians were successful, he would support them. Although the 1817 Rush-Bagot Agreement limited both the United States and Great Britain to four small armed vessels each on the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain, it has consistently been honored more in the breach by such actions as construction of warship hulls on the Great Lakes and the launching of USS Nashville . Technically, Rush-Bagot remains an active agreement, although a literal application of its terms was laid aside entirely in 2004.

Several influential American political figures have expressed their expectations that Canada would eventually become a natural part of the United States. Of these, the 1823 Monroe Doctrine is probably the best known, but the least direct statement of expected annexation. In 1869, President Ulysses S. Grant determined to delay negotiations over the Alabama until the British were willing to cede Canada. Senator Zachariah Chandler went so far as to say that the continent belonged to the United States, with Canada a "mere speck on the map", a "nuisance, ... a standing menace ... that we ought not to tolerate and will not tolerate."

Contributing to Canada's reaction against perceived creeping American sovereignty is the history of boundary disputes between the United States and Canada, some of which remain unresolved to this day. Most previous disputes, such as the Alaska boundary dispute, are seen in Canada to have been settled in favor of the United States, with Secretary of State William H. Seward himself admitting that the purpose of the purchase was to place pressure on British Columbia to join with the United States. With the thawing of the Northwest Passage, a new border dispute is shaping up over whether the Northwest Passage should be considered Canada's internal waters or an international strait. Historically, international straits have not normally been created through continental shelf waters clearly within the dominion of a single sovereign country. However, other country interests mean that Canada's position is isolated on the world stage. The growing sovereignty dispute over undersea arctic lands is another growing point of contention.

In modern times, becoming "the 51st state" is usually raised either as a potential consequence of adopting policies that propose greater integration or cooperation with the United States (such as Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement in 1988, or the current debate over the creation of a common defense perimeter), or as a potential consequence of not adopting proposals intended to resolve the issue of Quebec sovereignty (such as the Charlottetown Accord in 1992, or the Clarity Act in 1999).

The phrase is usually used in local political debates, in polemic writing or in private conversations. It is rarely used by politicians themselves in a public context, although at certain times in Canadian history political parties have used other similarly loaded imagery. In the 1988 federal election, the Liberals asserted that the proposed Free Trade Agreement amounted to an American takeover of Canada — notably, the party ran an ad in which Tory strategists, upon the adoption of the agreement, slowly erased the Canada-U.S. border from a desktop map of North America. Within days, however, the Tories responded with an ad which featured the border being drawn back on, as an announcer intoned "Here's where we draw the line."

A few fringe groups in Canada have actively campaigned in favor of joining the United States. These annexationist movements have not attracted much mainstream attention, although surveys have found that a minority of Canadians expressed some support for the concept, ranging from as many as 19 per cent in a Léger Marketing survey in 2001 to just seven per cent in another survey by the same company in 2004.

In the United States, use of the term "the 51st state" when applied to Canada can serve as either a positive or negative reference, depending on the context. In some circumstances, the term is used from a U.S. perspective to highlight the similarities and close relationship between Canada and the United States. However, the term is more often used disparagingly, intended to deride Canada, or make it appear as an unimportant or inconsequential neighbor of the United States. Interestingly, the Articles of Confederation pre-approved Canada's entry into the United States of America.

Alberta

Alberta is referred to as "the Texas of the north"; the two share similarities in terms of conservative social values and an economy defined by cattle ranching and petroleum extraction and processing. A number of Albertans have expressed dissatisfaction at Canada's policies towards the province, particularly with regards to national energy policy and equalization payments. Some Albertans accuse Canada of stealing money from the province's vast oil reserves to distribute to the rest of the country; however the redistribution of windfall provincial earnings as equalization payments to most provinces is standard practice, and all provinces have been the recipient of this funding at some point in time, including Alberta, although this sentiment was not directly tied to union with the United States. An August 2005 poll commissioned by the Western Standard pegged support for the idea that "Western Canadians should begin to explore their options outside of Canada" at 42% in Alberta and 35.6% across the four Western provinces.

Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island

During the Quebec referendum, 1995, there was media speculation that one potential consequence of Quebec's secession from Canada might be that the three Maritime Provinces of Canada, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island, would be economically disadvantaged by their geographic isolation from the remaining Canadian provinces, and would therefore secede from Canada and be admitted to the United States as three new states. However, each of the provincial parliaments deny there is or ever was any intent to join the United States.

Quebec

In the Quebec general election, 1989, Parti 51 ran for elections proposing secession of Quebec from Canada and annexation to the US. The party attracted just 3,846 votes across the entire province, 0.11 per cent of the total votes cast.

Mexico

The idea of incorporating Mexico as several new states of the United States has existed ever since the Mexican–American War of 1846-1848, when the All Mexico Movement proposed annexing Mexico by force. Today this idea stresses the strong economic and political connections between Mexico and the United States, the high recurring cost of defending a 2,000-mile border, and the desirability of preventing a Communist government from establishing itself there. In 1913 during border skirmishes between the United States and Mexico, it was proposed by some that the U.S. annex Chihuahua.

The northeast region, consisting of the states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, and Nuevo León (where claims about federal taxes and water usage are similar to the proposed U.S. states complaints ) is frequently alleged to be more alike in general mentality to Texas than to the rest of the country. These three states formed the core of the short-lived 19th century Republic of the Rio Grande.

Groups that suggest this union use several arguments to support their views, such as that both countries are Federal Republics, that their cultures are compatible despite the language difference as proved by the integration of millions of Mexicans into the U.S. via the 1986 U.S. Amnesty, that Mexico is extremely rich in natural resources with the potential to be a prosperous country, but that this is being prevented mainly by a long series of corrupt governments dominated by a small rich elite, which is the real reason for illegal immigration to the United States, and that therefore by dissolving the Mexican government along with the border, both countries would prosper better as an enlarged United States, with Mexicans turned into U.S. citizens and no longer treated as illegal aliens. One proposal called the Megamerge Dissolution Solution by T.L. Winslow calls for the U.S. to make the first move by officially inviting the Mexican people to dissolve their government and form statehood conventions and submit constitutions to Congress, claiming that it can be done in as little as five years during the Obama administration, with Mexico becoming anywhere from 10-15 new states (Mexico has 31 states). The new bigger U.S. would be better able to seal its borders against terrorists, and the extra territory would benefit from mass 2-way free migration, eventually equalizing development and opportunities while mixing the populations and creating a new paradigm for the region and the world.

Central America

Due to geographical proximity of the Central American countries to the U.S. which has powerful economic influences and political importance in the Americas (including periods of U.S. military occupations), there were several movements and proposals by the United States during the 19th and 20th centuries to annex some or all of the 6 or 7 Central American republics (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras with the formerly British-ruled Bay Islands, Nicaragua, Panama which has the U.S.-ruled Canal Zone territory from 1903 to 1979, and formerly British Honduras or Belize since 1981). These movements and proposals all failed.

Caribbean

Cuba

Home to 500,000 American land owners before the outbreak of the Spanish-American War, Cuba was projected to become US territory through a potential purchase from the Spanish empire. In 1859, Senator John Slidell introduced a bill to place thirty million dollars into the hands of the President, to be applied towards the purchase of Cuba from Spain.

The pro-independence movement in Cuba was funded and supported by the U.S., as guerrilla leaders pleaded for annexation for statehood in the 1880s and early 1890s, but Cuban revolutionary leader José Martí objected and called for Cuban nationhood. The Teller Amendment to the congressional reply to President William McKinley's War Message imposed a condition of the United States military action in Cuba that the U.S. could not annex Cuba but only leave "control of the island to its people." Despite this the Platt Amendment offered the United States certain rights, and it was several years before troops were withdrawn.

When the U.S. defeated Spain in 1898, the island was allowed to declare independence instead of becoming officially part of the U.S. Despite this the Platt Amendment offered the United States certain rights, and it was several years before troops were withdrawn.

From 1903 to 1958, the U.S. opted to back every government, most notably the General Fulgencio Batista regime who was ousted in 1959 by Fidel Castro. Castro erected an independent socialist/communist government which has been in power ever since.

Dominica

In 1898 one or more news outlets in the Caribbean noted growing sentiments of resentment of British rule in Dominica, including the system of administration over the country. These publications attempted to gauge sentiments of annexation to the United States as a way to change this system of administration.

Dominican Republic

In 1869, Dominican president Buenaventura Báez tried to persuade the United States to annex his debt-ridden, war-torn nation. U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant supported this plan, but the annexation treaty failed in the 56-member Senate 28-28, falling well short of the two-thirds required by the Constitution.

South America

Guyana

There is an organization dedicated to the integration of Guyana with the United States, GuyanaUSA. Their claim is based on the idea that Guyana has strong connections with the United States in terms of people (100,000 people have joint Guyanese-American citizenship and 350,000 Guyanese live in the U.S., half as many as remain in Guyana). It is the only South American country with English as its official language. Guyana, however, appears to have partly committed itself to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and also the South American integration organisation, becoming a founding member of the Union of South American Nations in 2008.

Pacific

Australia

Since the Second World War, Australian culture has been increasingly dominated by influences from the USA. The USA shares major joint military and government interests with Australia in part of the ANZUS Mutual Defense Treaty of 1951. Australia is an English-speaking country and is regarded as a close ally to the USA. The USA and Australia also have, remarkably, very similar governments, political systems and histories. While Australia is a British Commonwealth nation, with Queen Elizabeth II as head of state in her role as Queen of Australia, both governments are federal, have a House of Representatives and a Senate that are elected in similar fashions, and State governments that operate in similar fashion. The United States and Australia were also both largely formed from British subjects who were disgruntled and discriminated against, albeit for differing reasons, resulting in a common frontier mentality and self image in which the nations were carved out of a wilderness and formed into a free, prosperous nation. The similarities in both politics and culture between Australia and the United States have been remarked upon throughout history, and can be seen reflected in the close relations between the two nations at virtually every level and type of relationship that exists between them.

In Australia, the term '51st State' is used both as a hypothetical attack on a perceived invasion of American cultural or political influence, and as an expression of affection for, and solidarity with, the United States.

Europe

Albania

Albania is often cited as the 51st state due to its perceived strongly pro-USA positions mainly because of the Kosovo policy of the latter. In reference to President George W. Bush's 2007 European tour, Edi Rama, Tirana's mayor and leader of the opposition Socialists, said: "Albania is for sure the most pro-American country in Europe, maybe even in the world ... Nowhere else can you find such respect and hospitality for the President of the United States. Even in Michigan, he wouldn't be as welcome." At the time of ex-Secretary of State James Baker's visit in 1991, there was even a move to hold a referendum declaring the country as America's 51st state.

Denmark

The kingdom country in northern Europe was subject to pro-US annexation movements in the 1900s/1910's by a Danish-American ethnic organization in Ålborg, the small group established an "American" village near the city in Jutland and promoted closer Danish-American diplomatic relations.

Poland

Poland is staunchly pro-American (see Poland – United States relations), dating back to General Tadeusz Kościuszko's leading American revolutionaries, and reinforced following favorable American interventions in World War I (leading to the creation of an independent Poland), World War II (re-creating an independent Poland), and the Cold War (culminating in a Poland independent of Soviet influence), and contributing a large force in the "Coalition of the Willing" in Iraq. Poland has been referred to as "the 51st state" by CIA officials, especially in connection to extraordinary rendition.

Macedonia

In 2004, the U.S. government recognized the Republic of Macedonia under that name instead of "FYROM" (Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia), in deference to Macedonia's commitment to democracy. This move greatly pleased the Macedonians, as the country had been denied membership into the European Union based on Greece's objections to the name "Macedonia". The country is Pro-American and wishes to become part of NATO and the EU. The country is Pro-American and very keen to have US military bases in its region.

Sicily

The Party of Reconstruction in Sicily, which claimed 40,000 members in 1944, campaigned for Sicily to be admitted as a U.S. state. This party was one of several Sicilian separatist movements active after the downfall of Italian Fascism. The island is populated by Sicilians, a traditionally regional and ethnic group which felt neglected or underrepresented by the Italian government, especially after the annexation of 1861 when Sicily was part of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies based in Naples. The large population of Sicilians in America and the American-led Allied invasion of Sicily in July-August 1943 may have contributed to the sentiment.

United Kingdom

The UK has sometimes been called the 51st state due to the inclination of that country to work closely with the US under such leaders as Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair.

Asia

Japan

Despite the United Nations guarantee of the protection and preservation of Japanese sovereignty, some American congressmen insisted they should annex a war-defeated Japan. The U.S. armed forces rejected such a plan during the Japanese Instrument of Surrender on the USS Missouri.

However, in Article 3 of the Treaty of San Francisco between the Allied Powers and Japan, which came into force in April 1952, the U.S. put the outlying islands of the Ryukyus, including the island of Okinawa–home to over 1,000,000 Okinawans related to the Japanese–and the Bonin Islands, the Volcano Islands, and Iwo Jima into U.S. trusteeship. All these trusteeships were slowly returned to Japanese rule. Okinawa was returned on May 15, 1972, but the U.S. continues to station troops in the island's bases, an emotional subject for many Okinawans who despised foreign occupation left over from the World War II era.

Philippines

The Philippines at one time had a grassroots movement for statehood. Supporters of this movement were mainly Filipinos that had fought as members of the United States armed forces in various wars under a special agreement between the two countries (see Filipino Veterans Fairness Act). Various suggestions for Philippine statehood have included its entry as a whole or the partial entry of the westernized north, leaving the predominantly Muslim parts of Mindanao to form its own country (see Moro National Liberation Front) or join Indonesia. The movement never had any significant political impact, and was primarily a minor social movement. The movement is virtually dead, as most of its supporters are aging or have died.

Taiwan

When the Treaty of San Francisco and Treaty of Taipei were finalized, the United States, as leader of the World War II Allies and in its position as "principal occupying power" under the treaties, was given the internationally agreed responsibility of administration of the former Formosa, which it then continued to delegate (in the form of an "agency" relationship) to Chiang Kai-shek's Republic of China. The ongoing debates and disagreements in regard to the legal and political status of Taiwan remains, with some commentators believing it to be an independent or quasi-independent state that seeks more international recognition from members of the United Nations, functioning under the Formosa government. Neither the San Francisco Peace Treaty nor the Treaty of Taipei specified who should exercise sovereignty over Taiwan after the Allied Forces had relinquished control. The People's Republic of China was not a signatory to either treaty.

A poll in 2003 among Taiwanese residents aged between 13 and 22 revealed that, when given the options of either becoming a province of China or a state within the U.S., 55% of the respondents preferred statehood while 36% chose joining with China.

Middle East

Iraq

Several publications suggest that the Iraq War is a neocolonial war to make Iraq the 51st state, usually a tongue-in-cheek statement.

Israel

Several websites assert or joke that Israel is the 51st state due to the annual funding and defense support it receives from the United States. Commentator Richard Reeveshas also used this trope.

An example for such proposal can be found in 2003 when Martine Rothblatt published a book called "Two Stars for Peace" that argued for the addition of Israel and the Palestinian Territories as the 51st and 52nd states in the Union.

Use in other organizational contexts

Frequently, organizations (NGO, etc.) based primarily in the United States have smaller branches elsewhere. These branches may often be called the group's "51st state."

• The Democratic National Committee recognizes each state for electoral purposes; however it also gives Democrats Abroad delegate votes to represent the approximately seven million U.S. citizens living abroad. In the context of the DNC, Democrats Abroad is often considered the "51st state."

51st state in popular culture

• Jules Verne's novel "The Chase of the Golden Meteor", published in 1908 (several years after the writer's death) takes place at an unspecified future time in which the US has 51 States and its flag therefore displays 51 stars. Verne did not specify which states had joined the Union to make up that number. (In an earlier novel, "Propeller Island", Verne predicted the US annexing Canada and Central America).

• The 51st State is a 2001 British film starring Samuel L. Jackson and Robert Carlyle, set in Liverpool, England. The film makes fun of US-UK relations. The film was released under the title Formula 51 in the United States and Canada due to sensitivity to the term "51st state" there.

• 51st State is a novel by Peter Preston published in 1998, in which the United Kingdom leaves the European Union and becomes the 51st state of the USA. ISBN 0-670-88326-3

• When promoting his book A Man Without a Country, author Kurt Vonnegut told The Daily Show's Jon Stewart that he originally wished to call the book The 51st State, jokingly stating that the 51st state was the state of denial.

• In the 1979 film Americathon, which is set in a fictional 1998, the United Kingdom has become the 51st state, and the logos of a Safeway grocery store hangs on the Palace of Westminster.

• The satirical almanac The Areas of My Expertise, by John Hodgman, describes a mobile 51st state "Hohoq (also known as Ar.)"

• In the Fallout introduction FMV, a newsreel-style film displays a news brief about US Soldiers in newly annexed Canada. A US soldier is shown wearing Power armor with an American flag waving behind him in a typical propaganda style. The flag displays one large white star (representing the federal government) in the centre of a thirteen-star circle, which stands for the 13 commonwealths the U.S. divided into in the 2070s.

• The 1986 album The Ghost of Cain by the English rock band New Model Army features a track called 51st State, which refers to the UK under Margaret Thatcher.

• The song "Heartland" on the 1986 album Infected, by the English band The The, ends with the refrain "This is the 51st state of the U.S.A."

• In The Light of Other Days, a novel by Arthur C. Clarke and Stephen Baxter, the United Kingdom joins the United States, with the Prime Minister serving as governor and the Royal Family exiled to Australia. ISBN 0-00-224704-6

• In the film Meet the Robinsons, Lewis travels to the future, and while there, tries to hide his identity, saying he is from Canada. One of his future cousins replies, "You must mean North Montana. Hasn't been called Canada in years."

• In the Star Trek: The Next Generation second season episode "The Royale," a 52 Star flag is shown on a piece of debris. The episode did not make clear where the 51st and 52nd states were, only that they joined in the 21st century. In the episode, Commander Riker says that the flag dates the debris between the years of 2033 and 2079.

• In The Simpsons, Saudi-Israelia (presumably a combination of Saudi Arabia and Israel) is mentioned as the 51st state in the episode "Future-Drama."

• The 2008 Canadian television film The Trojan Horse follows the aftermath of a referendum in which Canada votes to join the United States. Instead of Canada being one state, there are six, British Columbia (British Columbia & Yukon), Alberta (Alberta & Northwest Territories), Manitoba (Manitoba & Saskatchewan), Ontario (Ontario & Nunavut), Quebec and Terra Nova (the Atlantic Provinces)

• In Robert Forward's novel Rocheworld, astronauts are launched on an interstellar mission to Barnard's Star by the Greater United States of America, a country formed when the 12 Canadian provinces and territories (the novel was written well before the existence of Nunavut was proposed) joined with the United States.

• In the alternate history of the comic series Watchmen, Vietnam is mentioned as the 51st state after the presence of the godlike superhero Doctor Manhattan during the war changes the outcome. In the trailer for the film adaptation, the flag on Eddie Blake's coffin has 51 stars.

• In the 1998 anime series Brain Powerd, the mammoth alien spaceship Orphan surfaces in the Pacific Ocean and is occupied by the United States, which proclaims it as the 53rd state. It is never specified what the 51st and 52nd states are.

• In Clive Cussler's 1981 novel Night Probe!, Canada becomes part of the United States after a World War I era treaty between the United Kingdom and the United States is discovered.

• 51st State is a popular Ilminster Punk / Drum & Bass / Experimental band.

See also

• Manifest Destiny
• Proposals for new Australian States
• Proposals for new Canadian provinces and territories

References