A History Channel report on the failed attempt by counties in southern Oregon and northern California to create a new state called Jefferson suggests that supporters would have brought their case to a vote in Congress on December 8, 1941, but for the attack on Pearl Harbor. I couldn't find any evidence that a vote was actually scheduled that day, but the statehood attempt was abandoned when war was declared.
DC statehood is still an ongoing effort and the subject of a license plate campaign.
Puerto Rican voters seem to have rejected statehood in favor of commonwealth status.
Residents in the Upper Peninsula section of Michigan have sought separate statehood, too, and the idea resurfaced in the 1970s over taxation disputes with Michigan's state house.
There are other states where there are or have been discussions about secession, partition and statehood.
The following questions are provided to try to analyze the topic and guide the answers away from raw opinion and towards scholarly opinion, supported by evidence and analysis.
What would be necessary for one of these movements to succeed?
What are the barriers/gateways?
Did any of these attempts generate any official action? For example, have any of them caused any of the following:
- a committee hearing in Congress
- a successful referendum at the local level?
Which statehood campaigns are still on-going? Are there any that are likely to succeed? Are there structural impediments that are out of proportion to the motivation of the backers? Are there any where the backers appear to have the momentum necessary to overcome the structural barriers?