A 51st state? A push to carve a new state out of Colorado is just the latest attempt to redraw the American map.

• Author: Smith, Patricia
• Position: NATIONAL

The farmers, mechanics, and retirees who gather for coffee at Nan's convenience store in Cheyenne Wells, Colorado, say they've had enough of the state and its Democratic leaders. They bristle at gun-control laws, green-energy policies, and steps to make Colorado more welcoming to illegal immigrants.

"I would've never believed the state of Colorado would become this liberal," says store owner Lyle Miller. "I'm afraid for my grandchildren. I want them to have the same heritage I had."

That's why lawmakers and volunteers in 11 rural Colorado counties have launched a movement to secede from Colorado and form their own state, one that would cherish the farm towns and conservative ideals that people here say have been lost in the state's halls of power. This 51st state would be called New Colorado, or maybe North Colorado.

"People think this is a radical idea," says Jeffrey Hare, a leader of the 51st State Initiative, which supports secession. "It's really not. What we're attempting to do is restore liberty."

It's not the first time part of a state has attempted to break away and form a new state. In fact, American history is full of examples of attempts to carve out new states, both successful (see box) and not (see map). Article IV of the Constitution provides for the creation of new states, requiring approval by the legislature of the affected state or states and by Congress.

"The United States was founded on this notion of no taxation without representation, so every time someone feels like they're not getting well represented, they want to do something about it," says Michael Trinklein, author of Lost States, a book about failed statehood attempts.

In the 1890s, Long Island considered breaking away from New York; in 1969, a proposal for New York City to become its own state went nowhere. In the early 1900s, 46 counties in Texas and 23 in Oklahoma proposed a new state called Texlahoma. In 1939, pieces of South Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming pushed to form Absaroka (named for a nearby mountain range). California has a long history of secession movements dating to the 1860s, and has several times come close to breaking up.

Today, discontented residents in western Maryland, Michigan's Upper Peninsula, and the mountains of southern Oregon and Northern California are agitating for their own states. There's even been talk--not taken very seriously--of independence for Texas and Alaska.

At the same time, supporters continue to push for turning Puerto Rico (a U.S. territory) and Washington...