Texas has had the Power to Split into 5 States for 150 Years

Source: Smithsonian Published: March 2017

Source: Smithsonian
Published: March 2017

Texas has had the Power to Split into 5 States for 150 Years

Circulated: February 19, 2019

Article IV, Section 3, of the U.S. Constitution states that Congress must approve any new states. But Texas’ claim to an exception comes straight from the 1845 joint congressional resolution admitting Texas into the Union. A quirk of a 19th-century Congressional resolution could allow Texas to split up into 5 states.