all any state be formed by the junction of two or more
states or parts of states, without the consent of the legislatures of the
states concerned as well as of the congress.[3]_

[1] These few words mark an era in political history. Heretofore nations
had acquired new territory merely to enlarge the extent of their
_provinces_ or subject states, never with a view of uniting the acquired
territory with the original system, allowing it equal political
privileges. But when we look at the matter carefully, we shall see that
our government could not consistently do otherwise than it did. The
proposition involved in the revolution was that new territory should
either be permitted to enjoy equal privileges with the parent state, or it
should become independent.

But it was not simply to carry out a political theory that this provision
was made; it was to solve a practical difficulty. At the close of the
Revolutionary War, the United States extended west to the Mississippi
river. The territory west of the Alleghany mountains contained almost no
inhabitants, and was of course unorganized. This territory became the
object of contention. Some of the states claimed jurisdiction over it,
while others maintained that it was not within the limits of any states,
and that, as it had been secured by a war waged by the general government,
this territory should be considered common property, to be managed by the
general government. The states having claims upon the territory expressed
a willingness to relinquish them upon the condition that the territory
should be formed into states as soon as the population would warrant.
Accordingly, before the constitution was framed all these states except
North Carolina and Georgia had relinquished their claims, and all but a
small portion of the territory was under the jurisdiction of the general
government. And July 13, 1787, that portion of the country west of
Pennsylvania and north of the Ohio, had been organized into the Northwest
Territory. This act of congress is generally known as The Ordinance of
1787. It was for a long time the model upon which other territories were
organized.

[2] This shows the fear entertained lest the general government should try
to control a state by threatening its existence.

[3] Vermont was claimed by both New York and New Hampshire. Both consented
to her admission.

Kentucky was a part of Virginia, and became a state with her consent.

Maine became a state w