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The equal footing doctrine, also known as equality of the states, is the principle in
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
constitutional law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in fe ...
that all states admitted to the Union under the
Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these prin ...
since 1789 enter on equal footing with the 13 states already in the Union at that time. The Constitution grants to
Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
the power to admit new states in Article IV, Section 3, Clause 1, which states: In each act of admission since that of
Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
in 1796, Congress has specified that the new state joins the Union "on an equal footing with the original States in all respects whatever". Previously, when
Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provin ...
was admitted in 1791, its act of admission said Vermont was to be "a new and entire member" of the United States.


Background

At the 1787 Constitutional Convention, a proposal to include the phrase, "new States shall be admitted on the same terms with the original States", was defeated. It was feared that the political power of future new western states would eventually overwhelm that of the established eastern states. Once the new Constitution went into effect, however, Congress admitted
Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provin ...
and
Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virgin ...
on equal terms and thereafter formalized the condition in its acts of admission for subsequent states, declaring that the new state enters "on an equal footing with the original States in all respects whatever." Thus the Congress, utilizing the discretion allowed by the framers, adopted a policy of equal status for all newly admitted states. With the growth of
states' rights In American political discourse, states' rights are political powers held for the state governments rather than the federal government according to the United States Constitution, reflecting especially the enumerated powers of Congress and t ...
advocacy during the antebellum period, the Supreme Court asserted, in '' Lessee of Pollard v. Hagan'' (1845), that the Constitution mandated admission of new states on the basis of equality.


Cases


''Coyle v. Smith''

In '' Coyle v. Smith'', , the Supreme Court ruled that if Congress mandates a unique limitation be put in a prospective state's constitution, even if the state's residents agree, the unique mandate is not enforceable.


Facts

On December 29, 1910, the state of
Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...
enacted a statute which removed the state capital from Guthrie to
Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, an ...
. W.H. Coyle, owner of large property interests in Guthrie, sued the state of Oklahoma, arguing that the move was performed in violation of the state constitution's acceptance of the terms of the 1906
Oklahoma Enabling Act The Enabling Act of 1906, in its first part, empowered the people residing in Indian Territory and Oklahoma Territory to elect delegates to a state constitutional convention and subsequently to be admitted to the union as a single state. The act, ...
, which mandated the capital to be in Guthrie until 1913.


Supreme Court Analysis

The Court noted that the power given to Congress by Article. IV, Section 3, of the US Constitution is to admit new states to the Union, and relates only to such states as are equal to each other in power and dignity and competency to exert the residuum of sovereignty not delegated to the Federal Government. The Supreme Court held that preventing the state of Oklahoma the right to locate its own seat of government deprived it of powers which all other states of the Union enjoyed and so it violated the traditional constitutional principle that all new states be admitted "on an equal footing with the original states". As a result, the provision of the enabling act that temporarily restricted Oklahoma's right to determine where its seat of government would be was unconstitutional.


''United States v. Holt State Bank''

In ''United States v. Holt State Bank'', , the Supreme Court ruled that the equal footing doctrine applied to water rights. The Supreme Court rejected a claim by the Red Lake Indian Reservation of
Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
that it had rights to Mud Lake and other navigable waters within the reservation by virtue of the tribe's aboriginal status.


Facts

In general, lands underlying navigable waters within a state belong to the state in its sovereign capacity; the state may use and dispose them subject to the paramount power of Congress to control such waters for the purposes of navigation in interstate and foreign commerce. If the United States, after acquiring the territory and before the creation of the state, has granted rights to land to a third party, rights that otherwise would have passed to the state, by virtue of its admission to the Union, remain with the third party. However, disposals by the United States during the territorial period of lands under navigable water should not be regarded as intended unless there was a definite declaration by contract, statute, or other similar action. At the time of Minnesota's admission as a state, Mud Lake and other much-larger navigable waters within its limits were included in the Red Lake Indian Reservation. The Chippewas Tribe ceded to the United States their right of occupancy of the surrounding lands, leaving the Red Lake Reservation as a remainder of their original aboriginal territory. While the area was recognized as a reservation, it was never formally set apart as such.''Holt'', at p. 57


Supreme Court Analysis

The State of Minnesota was admitted into the Union in 1858, 11 Stat. 285, c. 31, and under the constitutional principle of equality among the several states, the title to the bed of Mud Lake then passed to the state if the lake was navigable and if the bed had not already been disposed of by the United States.
Navigability A body of water, such as a river, canal or lake, is navigable if it is deep, wide and calm enough for a water vessel (e.g. boats) to pass safely. Such a navigable water is called a '' waterway'', and is preferably with few obstructions against ...
does not depend on the particular mode used or on an absence of occasional difficulties in navigation. It depends on the stream being, in its natural and ordinary condition, one that affords a channel for useful commerce.


See also

* '' Pollard v. Hagan'', 44 U.S. (3 How.) 212, 223 (1845) * '' Idaho v. United States'', 533 U.S. 262 (2001) *
Symmetric federalism Symmetric federalism refers to a federal system of government in which each constituent state to the federation possess equal powers. In a symmetric federalism no distinction is made between constituent states. This is in contrast to asymmetric f ...


References

{{US Constitution Equal footing doctrine United States constitutional law Federalism in the United States Legal history of the United States