Flag of the United States of America

The United States of Earth

Let's start with what most people believe. Most people outside of the United States, and even some inside of the United States compare Germany to the United States , or France to the United States But is this a fair comparison? Is the United States a country in the same sense as Germany or France?

First, what is a State?

A State is a sovereign entity. It is a country. It is a nation. It is a people.

From the Merriam-Webster Dictionary:

State
a politically organized body of people usually occupying a definite territory especially one that is sovereign

Each State has a Constitution

Just as other States around the world has a Constitution, each State of the Union has a Constitution. States need to have a Constitution to be admitted to the Union. During drafting, the State seeking admittance must draft a Constitution that shall not conflict with the Federal Constitution. The States that are United currently composes of 50 States in total.

What the Constitution says about States and their Admission

"New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or Parts of States, without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress."

The "of America" in the "United States of America"

People from England and throughout Europe settled on the continent of North America, what is known today as the Contiguous United States.

America merely refers to a geographical location. But the Federal Constitution transcends geography.

Hawaii, an Island in the Pacific Ocean, ~3,976km (~2,471mi) away from its closest State, California; Hawaii is not in "America" but it is still a State of the Union.

On August 21, 1959 , Hawaii joined the Union when the People of Hawaii drafted a Constitution of their own and were admitted by Congress.

Name Abbreviation Date admitted to the Union
Alabama AL December 14, 1819
Alaska AK January 3, 1959
Arizona AZ February 14, 1912
Arkansas AR June 15, 1836
California CA September 9, 1850
Colorado CO August 1, 1876
Connecticut CT January 9, 1788
Delaware DE December 7, 1787
Florida FL March 3, 1845
Georgia GA January 2, 1788
Hawaii HI August 21, 1959
Idaho ID July 3, 1890
Iowa IA December 28, 1846
Illinois IL December 3, 1818
Indiana IN December 11, 1816
Kansas KS January 29, 1861
Kentucky KY June 1, 1792
Louisiana LA April 30, 1812
Maine ME March 15, 1820
Maryland MD April 28, 1788
Massachusetts MA February 6, 1788
Michigan MI January 26, 1837
Minnesota MN May 11, 1858
Mississippi MS December 10, 1817
Missouri MO August 10, 1821
Montana MT November 8, 1889
Nebraska NE March 1, 1867
Nevada NV October 31, 1864
New Hampshire NH June 21, 1788
New Jersey NJ December 18, 1787
New Mexico NM January 6, 1912
New York NY July 26, 1788
North Carolina NC November 21, 1789
North Dakota ND November 2, 1889
Ohio OH March 1, 1803
Oklahoma OK November 16, 1907
Oregon OR February 14, 1859
Pennsylvania PA December 12, 1787
Rhode Island RI May 29, 1790
South Carolina SC May 23, 1788
South Dakota SD November 2, 1889
Tennessee TN June 1, 1796
Texas TX December 29, 1845
Utah UT January 4, 1896
Vermont VT March 4, 1791
Virginia VA June 25, 1788
Washington WA November 11, 1889
West Virginia WV June 20, 1863
Wisconsin WI May 29, 1848
Wyoming WY July 10, 1890

The United States is a country comprised of many States. It is a federation of States. What are States? They are countries. They are sovereign. They are independent. They are United. But United how? By the Constitution of the United States of America.

Flags

Each State of the world has a flag that represents their State.

For example

Georgia's State flag is

British Columbia's State flag is

Currently, there are 50 States in the Union.

When a State is admitted to the Union, a white Star is added to the United States' Flag.

Since there are 50 States, there are 50 stars on the United States flag. United States' Flag

When the 51st State is admitted to the Union, the United States' Flag will have 51 stars. United States' Flag with 51 stars

When the 52nd State is admitted to the Union, the United States' Flag will have 52 stars. United States' Flag with 52 stars ... and so on.

As more States join the Union, the United States' Flag would have 195, 400, or even 600 stars. United States' of Earth Flag

Past, Present, and Future flag designs

Learn more about the Flag (Old Glory)

State Admittance Process

If a State would like to join the Union, it must go through the following process:

  1. The State must draft a Constitution that is in-line with the Federal Constitution.
  2. The State must submit the Constitution to the Federal Government for review.
  3. The Federal Government must approve the Constitution.
  4. The State must hold a referendum to approve the Constitution.
  5. The State must submit the results of the referendum to the Federal Government.
  6. The Federal Government must approve the results of the referendum.
  7. The State must submit a request to join the Union.
  8. The Federal Government must approve the request to join the Union.
  9. The State is admitted to the Union, and a new Star is added to the Flag.

"New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or Parts of States, without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress."

This is the process that all 50 States of the Union went through. This is the process that any State later, that would like to join the Union, must go through.

This includes (but is not limited to) the States of:

Name Abbreviation
Afghanistan AF
Albania AL
Alberta AB
Algeria DZ
Andorra AD
Angola AO
Antigua and Barbuda AG
Argentina AR
Armenia AM
Australia AU
Austria AT
Azerbaijan AZ
Bahamas BS
Bahrain BH
Bangladesh BD
Barbados BB
Belarus BY
Belgium BE
Belize BZ
Benin BJ
Bhutan BT
Bolivia BO
Bosnia and Herzegovina BA
Botswana BW
Brazil BR
British Columbia BC
Brunei BN
Bulgaria BG
Burkina Faso BF
Burundi BI
Cabo Verde CV
Cambodia KH
Cameroon CM
Canada CA
Central African Republic CF
Chad TD
Chile CL
China CN
Colombia CO
Comoros KM
Costa Rica CR
Croatia HR
Cuba CU
Cyprus CY
Czech Republic CZ
Denmark DK
Djibouti DJ
Dominica DM
Dominican Republic DO
Ecuador EC
Egypt EG
El Salvador SV
England EN
Equatorial Guinea GQ
Eritrea ER
Estonia EE
Eswatini SZ
Ethiopia ET
Fiji FJ
Finland FI
France FR
Gabon GA
Gambia GM
Georgia GE
Germany DE
Ghana GH
Greece GR
Grenada GD
Guatemala GT
Guinea GN
Guinea-Bissau GW
Guyana GY
Haiti HT
Honduras HN
Hong Kong HK
Hungary HU
Iceland IS
India IN
Indonesia ID
Iran IR
Iraq IQ
Ireland IE
Isreal IL
Italy IT
Ivory Coast CI
Jamaica JM
Japan JP
Jordan JO
Kazakhstan KZ
Kenya KE
Kiribati KI
Korea, North KP
Korea, South KR
Kuwait KW
Kyrgyzstan KG
Laos LA
Latvia LV
Lebanon LB
Lesotho LS
Liberia LR
Liberland LL
Libya LY
Liechtenstein LI
Lithuania LT
Luxembourg LU
Madagascar MG
Malawi MW
Malaysia MY
Maldives MV
Manitoba MB
Mali ML
Malta MT
Marshall Islands MH
Mauritania MR
Mauritius MU
Mexico MX
Micronesia FM
Moldova MD
Monaco MC
Mongolia MN
Montenegro ME
Morocco MA
Mozambique MZ
Myanmar MM
Namibia NA
Nauru NR
Nepal NP
Netherlands NL
Newfoundland and Labrador NL
New Brunswick NB
New Zealand NZ
Nicaragua NI
Niger NE
Nigeria NG
North Macedonia MK
Norway NO
Nova Scotia NS
Oman OM
Ontario ON
Pakistan PK
Palau PW
Panama PA
Papua New Guinea PG
Paragua PY
Peru PE
Philippines PH
Poland PL
Portugal PT
Prince Edward Island PE
Quebec QC
Romania RO
Russia RU
Rwanda RW
Saint Kitts and Nevis KN
Saint Lucia LC
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines VC
Samoa WS
San Marino SM
Sao Tome and Principe ST
Saskatchewan SK
Saudi Arabia SA
Scotland SC
Senegal SN
Serbia RS
Seychelles SC
Sierra Leone SL
Singapore SG
Slovakia SK
Solvenia SI
Solomon Islands SB
Somalia SO
South Africa ZA
South Sudan SS
Spain ES
Sri Lanka LK
Sudan SD
Suriname SR
Sweden SE
Switzerland CH
Syria SY
Tajikistan TJ
Taiwan TW
Tanzania TZ
Thailand TH
Timor-Leste TL
Togo TG
Tonga TO
Trinidad and Tobago TT
Tunisia TN
Turkey TR
Turkmenistan TM
Tuvalu TV
Uganda UG
Ukraine UA
United Arab Emirates AE
Uruguay UY
Uzbekistan UZ
Vanuatu VU
Venezuela VE
Vietnam VN

A paradigm shift

From the time of the Founding of the United States, language has very much changed.

When we as Humans of the world use the word "State", our minds usually default to a State of the Union. New York, California, Texas, etc.

But this limits our thinking. It limits our understanding of the scope of the Constitution of the United States.

It limits this understanding by programming our minds to think of the United States as a country, and not a federation of countries/States.

Argument against the United States of Earth

Elected Admittance vs State Building

Intrinsic to the Constitution is the idea that the People of the State are the ones who draft the Constitution of the State. It must be the People of that State's will to join the Union. It is not within the scope or power of the Federal Government to force a State to join the Union.

Argument for the United States of Earth

What separates a State not yet admitted from a State already admitted?

Given that, for a State to be admitted, it must draft a Constitution that does not conflict with the Federal Constitution.

For State Constitutions that exist outside of the United States, it's very likely that there are existing conflicts that would need to be resolved.

Statesmen / Stateswomen

Just as any other unadmitted State has a populace with a name, so too does the United States.

One important distinction however, is that all Statesmen and Stateswomen within the United States are also Citizens of the United States and does not necessarily reflect a "Race" as many other States do.

The People of the State of Missouri are Missourian. The People of the State of Germany are German. The People of the State of Michigan are Michigander. The People of the State of France are French. The People of the State of South Dakota are considered South Dakotan.

The People of the United States are United States Citizens. Or more simply, American.

Magna Carta, Lex Rex, Self-Government

The Magna Carta, Lex Rex, and principles of self-government significantly influenced the framers of the United States Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. Let's delve into each of these influences:

Magna Carta (1215)
The Magna Carta, also known as the Great Charter, was a document signed by King John of England in 1215. It was essentially a peace treaty between the King and his barons, establishing certain rights and limitations on the monarchy's power. Key principles of the Magna Carta that influenced the framers include: Rule of Law: The Magna Carta asserted that even the King was subject to the law, and it limited the arbitrary exercise of royal power. This concept of the rule of law, where everyone, including the government, is subject to the law, deeply influenced the framers' understanding of governance. Protection of Liberties: The Magna Carta guaranteed certain fundamental rights and liberties to the people, such as the right to a fair trial and protection against unlawful imprisonment. These ideas of individual liberties and due process became foundational to the American legal system. Consent of the Governed: While not explicitly stated in the Magna Carta, the idea that the King's power was limited by the consent of his subjects laid the groundwork for the principle of popular sovereignty, which became central to American political thought.
Lex Rex (1644)
"Lex Rex," written by Scottish theologian and political theorist Samuel Rutherford, challenged the idea of the divine right of kings and argued for the supremacy of law over the ruler. Key principles of "Lex Rex" that influenced the framers include: Limited Government: Rutherford's work reinforced the notion that government should be limited by law and that rulers should not be above the law. This concept was integral to the framers' vision of a government with separated powers and checks and balances. Social Contract: Rutherford's ideas contributed to the development of the social contract theory, which posits that government authority is derived from the consent of the governed. This idea resonated with the American colonists' grievances against British rule and informed their demand for self-government.
Principles of Self-Government
Building on the concepts of the Magna Carta and "Lex Rex," the American colonists developed their own ideas about self-government through various colonial charters, political writings, and experiences of local governance. Key principles of self-government that influenced the framers include: Popular Sovereignty: The belief that government derives its legitimacy from the consent of the governed was a central tenet of American political thought. This principle is reflected in the Declaration of Independence's assertion that governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed. Separation of Powers: Inspired by Enlightenment thinkers like Montesquieu, the framers embraced the idea of separating governmental powers into different branches to prevent tyranny and ensure accountability. This principle is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution's framework of legislative, executive, and judicial branches. Federalism: The concept of federalism, which divides power between a central authority and regional governments, was influenced by the experiences of the American colonies under British rule and their desire for local autonomy within a broader union. In summary, the Magna Carta, "Lex Rex," and principles of self-government provided the intellectual and historical foundations for the American Revolution and the subsequent establishment of the United States. These documents and ideas shaped the framers' understanding of government, individual rights, and the relationship between rulers and the governed, ultimately influencing the drafting of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.