guam and american samoa im not really sure whats going on.
Population issues. An admittedly quick Google search (so take it for what it’s worth) says that the minimum population is 60,000 adult males. Guam has a population of 172k, so there are either not enough adult males among the 172k (which is unlikely but possible once you factor out women and children under 18), or there are other issues I’m unaware of (including maybe simply not wanting to become a state).
The other US territories outside of Puerto Rico and Guam typically have populations of less than 50k in total per territory, which would make them way, way too small to be considered for statehood. Admitting them as states would also give them outsized voting power when compared to population size, particularly in the US Senate. But even in the HOR, you’d have one representative from each territory representing roughly the population of a small US city who’s vote would carry weight equal to others that are representing half a million to a million or more each.
Population issues. An admittedly quick Google search (so take it for what it’s worth) says that the minimum population is 60,000 adult males. Guam has a population of 172k, so there are either not enough adult males among the 172k (which is unlikely but possible once you factor out women and children under 18), or there are other issues I’m unaware of (including maybe simply not wanting to become a state).
The other US territories outside of Puerto Rico and Guam typically have populations of less than 50k in total per territory, which would make them way, way too small to be considered for statehood. Admitting them as states would also give them outsized voting power when compared to population size, particularly in the US Senate. But even in the HOR, you’d have one representative from each territory representing roughly the population of a small US city who’s vote would carry weight equal to others that are representing half a million to a million or more each.