RE: [DL] Territories vs. States

["Matthew M. DeForrest" <mmdeforrest@worldnet.att.net>]

-----Original Message-----
But what is the difference between the two? I remember the Eastwood Western
Hang 'em High where the judge says something about him being the highest
court in the territory... does that mean that are only basic legal
authorities?

What were the requirements for a territory to achieve statehood, anyway?
What are/were the benefits?
--------------------------

Markus,

It's not a stupid question at all.  For a Territory to achieve statehood, it
had to reach a certain voting population.  This is one of the reasons that
western states granted voting rights to women (Wyoming was first) to reach
the number quickly.

The important difference between a State and a Territory is representation
in the US House and Senate and, by extension, the right to vote for the
President (the Electoral College is determined by the total number of
representatives and senators: see
http://www.nara.gov/fedreg/elctcoll/faq.html for more info.).

By the way, the US still has territories: Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin
Islands and American Samoa.

I hope this helps.

Matt