It's funny to me I never thought of Congress as the 'other states' but it appears to be the same thing.
The idea that the people of a territory must decide if they want to be a state and not be invited first before they apply comes from this train of thought I thought to be true:
Quote:
If you are talking about the process of a territory becoming a state, then I can help you. I'm working on it right now myself.
1.) A petition needs to be sent to the congress from the people of the territory that wants to be admitted.
2.) If the Congress honors the petition it passes an Enabling act. This authorizes the people of the territory to draw up a state constitution.
3.) This document, after it has been framed, and ratified at the polls by the people of the territory, is then submitted to congress.
4.) If Congress finds everything in order, statehood legislation is passed and signed by the President. Formal admission is signaled by presidential proclamation.
Congress has been generous in granting full statehood to the home territories, in some cases even before they had acquired large populations.
|
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Territory_to_state