Thomas Colby, law professor at The George Washington University Law School Justin Hansford, Law Professor at Howard University Law School Explaining the road to statehood What does the Constitution say about statehood? The Constitution grants general state-creation powers to Congress in Article IV, Section 3, under what's called the admissions clause: “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," it reads.