Texas Can Legally Split Into 5 Different States Any Time it Wants

I happened upon a fact today that I don't most people don’t know. It turns out that Texas has a legal right to break into five different states, and it doesn’t even need permission from Congress to do it.

When Texas joined the United States back in 1845, it wasn’t like the other states. At that time, Texas was its own country, known as the Republic of Texas. Because of that, it made a special deal with the U.S. government. In the deal, which is officially called the Joint Resolution for Annexing Texas, there was a section that gave Texas the right to divide itself into as many as five separate states in the future.

Texas Can Be Divided Into 5 States With No Approval Needed

Yes, really. Five states. Five governors. Ten U.S. senators. Five sets of laws, flags, and state birds. All of it would be legal under that agreement.

Of course, this has never actually happened. Texas has stayed one giant state ever since it joined the U.S. But the option is still there. Legally, Texas could decide to split up, and we wouldn’t need approval from the rest of the country. That’s different from other states, which would need Congress to agree before doing anything like that.

Get our free mobile app

READ NEXT: Why the Air Smells Sweet Before a Big Texas Storm

Why would Texas ever want to do this? Maybe it could help different parts of the state make their own laws and have their own leaders. For example, East Texas is very different from West Texas, and the big cities like Houston or Dallas often have different needs than rural towns. Having more than one state could give those areas more of a voice.

On the other hand, it could just create more problems, like more government, more confusion, and major changes in politics across the whole country.

So far, Texas has never tried it. But the law still says it could. And that’s a pretty wild “what if” to think about.

@geoexplainerusa #usa🇺🇸 #viralvideo #map #educational #usa #maps ♬ original sound - Geo Globe Hub