"Following its independence from Britain, the United States faced the question of how to dispose of lands located outside the colonial borders. Several pieces of legislation were considered at the Continental Congress to formulate a statehood process - from creation of a territorial government to delegation at the Congress to final admission to the Union. The Constitution further refined the steps to admission, including requirements of popular electoral support for statehood and population minimums. Each state followed its own path of entry into the U.S., be it like Maine which skipped the territorial step or like Texas which began life as an independent nation. This book traces the history of the statehood process and looks at how each of the current fifty states came to join as one nation."--BOOK JACKET.