The Importance of the Constitution

By Rick Hendricks, State Historian

        No constitution no statehood, for New Mexico it was as simple as that. The procedures and requirements for United States Territories to gain admittance to the Union derive from the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, which was an act of the Congress operating under the Articles of Confederation of the United States that created a formally organized territory out of an area northwest of the Ohio River. According to the precedent established by the Enabling Act of 1802, Congress had to pass such an act before admission of a territory to statehood. more...