America's 51st state?

• Author: Tyler, Gabriel Charles
• Position: NATIONAL - Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico

Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico are pushing for statehood. But will Congress ever go along?

It's been nearly six decades since Alaska and Hawaii joined the Union as the 49th and 50th states in 1959. Is it time for the U.S. to add another star or two to the flag? That's the question both Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico are asking Americans to consider in separate pushes for statehood that have gained some momentum recently.

For residents of the District of Columbia, it's a question of fairness. Americans in D.C. serve in the U.S. military, sit on juries, and pay federal taxes just like everyone else. But because of the capital's special status as a federal district, its residents don't have voting representation in Congress, so they have no say in the nation's laws. They also have limited control over their own affairs because any law passed by D.C.'s local government requires congressional approval.

That bothers Cheryl Liu, 19, who moved to D.C. from Hinsdale, Illinois, last year to attend Georgetown University. She's now an active member of the group Students for D.C. Statehood.

"I thought it was a little bit ridiculous that citizens living here don't have a voice in Congress, or control over their own affairs," Liu says.

The Founding Fathers

D.C.'s second-class status goes back to America's earliest days. The Founding Fathers thought it was important to keep the nation's capital in a special federal district, and included a provision about it in the Constitution. They worried that if the capital were geographically within a state, that state might have undue influence over the federal government. When D.C. was established as the nation's capital in 1790, only about 3,000 people lived in the 100-square-mile area that was carved out from Maryland and Virginia. *

But as Washington's population grew over time (it now has about 675,000 residents--more than Wyoming or Vermont), residents began demanding more of a voice in their government. In 1961, the 23rd Amendment to the Constitution gave D.C. residents the right to vote for president for the first time. In 1970, D.C. received a nonvoting "delegate" in the House of Representatives. And in 1973, Congress allowed the District to form a local government with a council, a mayor, and other local agencies. But Congress still controls Washington's budget and has to approve all its local laws.

The lack of congressional representation is a focus of the current push for statehood, which would give...