How many states have claimed sovereignty

Annexation by the United States was always a topic looming large in both Texas and United States politics. The overwhelming majority of Texians saw themselves as Americans, seeking union with the mother country. In the United States, the issue was politically thorny both because of the legality of slavery in the Republic America at that time was unofficially governed by the Missouri Compromise , which sought to maintain a delicate balance between free and slave states and relations south of the border.

Indeed, the national leadership of both the Democrats and the Whigs opposed the annexation of Texas on some combination of each of these grounds. The first administration to pursue the matter seriously was President John Tyler, who had been expelled from his political party and was an independent.

He secured an annexation treaty in April The treaty was then sent to the Senate, where the terms were made public. Texas Annexation became one of — if not the — defining issue of the election. Southern delegates were able to deny popular former President Martin Van Buren the nomination on the grounds that he opposed annexation. This was, strictly speaking, not true.

Van Buren simply opposed annexation without due care for Mexican and free state sensibilities. Indeed, Van Buren did not even fully oppose a military option to take control of Texas. James K. Polk won the Democratic nomination with the explicit backing of former President Jackson on a platform of Manifest Destiny in Texas. In June , the Whig-majority Senate voted down the annexation treaty.

And by December of that year, after an anemic re-election bid he dropped out of the race in August , Tyler obtained approval of the treaty by simple majority of both houses of Congress.

The Republic of Texas became the 28th state on February 19, A dispute over the full extent of the Republic ultimately led to the Mexican-American War of Texas was conflicted about how to relate to the Republic of the Rio Grande. Its benefit was to create a buffer state between the Republic of Texas and Mexico. On the other hand, Texas often took pains to not antagonize its neighbor to the south. While Texas pursued an official policy of neutrality, it unofficially encouraged men to enroll in the volunteer military of the Republic of the Rio Grande, and to send military aid where possible.

The Republic of the Rio Grande Museum currently sits in Laredo, while the Laredo Morning Times includes the flag of the Republic on its masthead, alongside the traditional six flags over Texas.

The Provisional Government of Oregon was organized explicitly as a placeholder for a government until the United States would come in and take over. Its government was noteworthy for first having a Supreme Judge as the chief executive, Chairman of the Committee at Champoeg Meetings, then an executive committee, before finally settling on a governor.

The loose government also acknowledged wheat, beaver skins, Mexican pesos and Peruvian reals alongside the United States dollar. Some were concerned about the illegality of private mints under U. When Oregon joined the Union, the San Francisco mint purchased Beaver Dollars at a premium and melted them down to make their own gold coins.

Somewhat famously, the law likewise barred entry to blacks, though the law against this was never actually enforced. Approximately 30 black settlers were counted by the captain of the USS Shark in Two years later, the United States government created the Oregon Territory — where the entire legal code, save for Beaver Coins, was kept intact. Current Territory: The State of California.

While California is one of the biggest states in the Union, its history as an independent republic is rather brief and fleeting — all told, the Bear Flag Republic lasted 25 days. While it claimed virtually all of the Mexican territory later incorporated into the United States outside of Texas, it realistically only exercised military control of an area around San Francisco.

Still, while the history of the Republic proper is brief, the background leading to an independent albeit, unrecognized republic, is fascinating. Alta California, as it was then known, was far from the population centers and centers of power in Mexico, and was widely neglected by the Mexican government. Leaders of the community openly discussed the option of independence or annexation by the United States, the United Kingdom or France. In practice, the region enjoyed broad autonomy.

In , the regional governor was rejected by an open revolt of the Californios. The process for naturalization was rather easy. In fact, Mexico encouraged the process. So large areas of land in California were held by citizens who were effectively Mexican in name only.

In response, the Mexican government attempted to clamp down on the ability of foreigners to purchase land within Mexico without first obtaining naturalization. Captain John C. He has been variously accused of inciting the revolt, however, one thing is clear: the presence of a pro-expansion military officer certainly put wind in the sails of those wishing to officially throw off the Mexican yoke.

They traveled from there to Sonoma, where they sought to capture the pueblo, which was the center of government power in Alta California. They found no resistance and quickly agreed to terms with the Comandante. On August 17th, General Robert F. The original Bear Flag lasted until , when it was destroyed in one of the fires resulting from the earthquake.

This one is slightly different than the rest on our list, but bears inclusion. Initially, Church President Brigham Young planned to apply for status as a territory. Young and the Church mostly established their boundaries by wisely not asking for the already prime real estate. President Zachary Taylor, for his part, preferred the admission of the entire area of Deseret and California as a single state, which would also solve the problem of not admitting too many free states.

The latter took up much of the northern half of the proposed State of Deseret. The annexation of Texas and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo put wind in the sails of those who sought to expand United States territory and slave power southward. The most radical of these movements were the Golden Circle , which sought for a breakaway Southern confederacy to control the entirety of the Caribbean through an invasion of Mexico, Central America and Spanish possessions.

The slightly less radical All of Mexico Movement saw the entirety of Mexico as properly American soil. This was the political climate that lead to the creation of the Republic of Sonora.

American filibuster William Walker was the driving force behind the movement, which enjoyed its greatest popularity in San Francisco. He invaded Baja California and Sonora with 45 men, where he conquered La Paz, a sparsely populated area acting as the capital of Baja California.

He then declared the Republic of Baja California, but later specified that this was simply one part of a larger Republic of Sonora. Our story of William Walker picks up here. Neither the Mexican military nor the population were terribly keen on another Yanqui republic in their midst, so the opposition to Walker was stiff.

On the other side of the border, while he found favor among a small number of committed radicals, this movement did not enjoy a wide base of popularity. After continuous military defeat and defection by demoralized troops, Walker surrendered to the United States military in San Diego. He was put on trial for violating the Neutrality Act, which was part of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.

The jury, operating at the peak of Manifest Destiny sentiment in the United States, took all of eight minutes to acquit him.

The separatist craze sweeping other parts of the Western world is not entirely absent from the United States.

All told, there are 22 states with active movements to secede from that state to form a 51st. This is not without precedent: West Virginia was created out of Virginia largely due to political differences.

Four of the above polities California , Hawaii , Texas and Vermont have active secessionist movements seeking to reestablish these defunct states.

What is a sovereign nation? A sovereign nation is a nation that has one centralized government that has the power to govern a specific geographic area. Under the definition set by international law, a sovereign nation has a defined territory with just one government. These nations have a permanent population and can enter into relations with other sovereign countries.

Of these states, states have undisputed sovereignty. There are 15 states with disputed sovereignty. Sovereign Nation The Republic of Korea is claimed by North Korea. Abkhazia is claimed by Georgia. Artsakh is claimed by Azerbaijan.

Kosovo is claimed by Serbia. As of March , UN nations have recognized Kosovo as a sovereign state. Northern Cyprus is claimed by the Republic of Cyprus.