Constitutional FAQ Answer #106

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Q106. “I am unaware of the status of the Articles
of Confederation, but for the sake of argument, if my some outside chance
Canada formally asked to become part of the union, would the United States have
to honor it’s commitment under Article XI? Or is the article null and void at
this point in our history?”

A. Under the Articles of Confederation’s
Article XI, the United States made an open invitation to Canada to join the
new union as a state, admission guaranteed simply by asking. If Canada had
made such a request, the world would be a much different place today. The open
invitation, however, expired with the replacement of the Articles with the
Constitution. Canada is free to request admission into the United States, as
is any independent nation, territory of the United States, or other political
unit, under the rules laid out in Article 4,
Section 3 of the Constitution.

Last Modified: 10 Aug 2010

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