The current 50 stars version will soon be turning 65 years old, by far the longest iteration it has ever had, followed by the 48 stars version used during both World Wars.
@VictorMortimer That whole point of DC was so no state could hold the National Capital. For Puerto Rico it will depend on if they ever vote to become of state instead of remaining a US territory (or vote to become fully independent), and then it would have to be approved by congress.
Honestly, I think there's a higher chance of new states forming off current ones, similar to what happened to Virginia during the Civil War.
@rtlstien Well, I believe that when Texas joined, they had a clause saying that they could split into a maximum of 5 states if they wanted to. And I guess that clause is still there.
The problem is however the same as it was before the civil war.
Before the civil war, states joined in pairs. A slave state and a free state. The reason being that slave states would not accept a new free state, and free states would not accept a new slave state. But if one of each joined at the same time, it was acceptable for both.
And now, Republican states won't accept a new Democratic state, and Democratic states won't accept a new Republican state.
So I think now, if Texas and California both want to split up at the same time, that might actually be possible.
When it comes to DC, I fully agree with you. DC should never become a state.
However, I think they should have ONE senator. That would make an odd number of senators, and make sure that you won't get a deadlock in the senate.
Umm ... America's tricolor preceded France's, which was also (as was the American one, after all, Yankees had fought "The French & Indian War" wherein they lost ten percent of the population of the Northeast under a tricolour) an homage to the United Kingdom ... which the French thoroughly misunderstand to this day.
The American Constitution precedes almost every European one, too ... and it's uninterrupted form of government, like Britain's, precedes those of every polity on The Continent with the possible exception of The Republic of San Marino and Duchy of Lichtenstein.
Americans needed no permission from France, and in fact seriously harmed their European allies by concluding a separate peace with the Mother Country across The Pond. Just writing as a Canadian here ... our entire identity is about not being American.
@Honzinator France had signed a separate pact with Spain, which the US didn't sign, to continue fighting until Spain's goal of taking Gibraltar was accomplished. This pact would have drawn the US into a war it could not afford to fight in. Thus they signed a separate treaty with Britain.