Puerto Rico has been waiting for statehood for 126 years as of this writing. It has been a territory since 1917 — 107 years — but has been asking for statehood since first becoming a U.S. possession in 1898.
Since different states had different status positions, names, and boundaries at different times and each state’s journey to statehood was different, it can be difficult to compare the length of time each state waited for admission. Here are some examples.
The long timers
King Kamehameha began negotiations for statehood for Hawaii in 1853, Hawaii became the 50th state in 1959, 106 years later.
Oklahoma was a territory of the United States from 1834, when the land that is now the state of Oklahoma was Indian Territory, to 1907, when Oklahoma became a state. Since Oklahoma was part of the Louisiana purchase, though, it belonged to the United States from 1803 on. That makes it 104 years as a possession before statehood.
We could therefore say that there is precedent for a territory spending more than a century waiting for statehood.
Alaska was in the possession of the United States for 92 years before becoming a state.
Mexico ceded New Mexico to the U.S. in 1848. It became a territory in 1850 and 64 years after becoming a possession of the United States it became a state.
The short timers
The Dakotas were one territory beginning in 1861 and split into two territories and then two states by 1889, just 28 years later. Part of the Dakota Territory had been acquired through the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, but not all.
Alabama was a territory for only two years before becoming a state. However, it had been part of the Mississippi territory, which was acquired in 1798, so it belonged to the U.S. for 21 years before it was admitted.
California belonged to the United States for just two years before statehood. It never got around to becoming a territory, but went directly from being a possession ceded by Mexico to being a state.
So there is also precedent for a territory becoming a state within a generation.
The record holder
Even though different states waited different lengths of time to become states and the amount of time can be argued based on the difference between being a possession and being a territory, Puerto Rico has been a territory, a possession, and a place asking for statehood for longer than any of the current states held those positions.
It is long past the right time to admit Puerto Rico as a state. The United States, a nation that prides itself on upholding democracy, liberty, and justice, has no place owning a colony. Reach out to your representatives and let them know that you want to see them on the right side of history.
No responses yet