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Any-Growth8158 t1_iyaxuda wrote

Reply to comment by UncontrolableUrge in ELI5: Why is wales a country but not the states of the US by coolredditfan

"Because the various states of the US never exercised full sovereignty as independent countries."

There can be little doubt that Texas and Hawaii are clear exceptions to this. Should they get independent World Cup teams from the USA?

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WeDriftEternal t1_iyb8jxs wrote

Vermont as well was in theory its own country, but it wasn't recognized as a country by anyone and generally intended to join the US anyways (which it later did).

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UncontrolableUrge t1_iyazf9m wrote

Hawaii, yes.

Texas, no. It was only recognized by a handful of countries (the United States was not one of them) and Mexico stopped fighting but did not give up their claim to the territory until after the US-Mexican War. Same with California and Oregon.

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drafterman t1_iyb0kbx wrote

They gave up that sovereignty when they joined the Union as States.

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r3dl3g t1_iycmpdb wrote

Texas is no longer an exception. The SCOTUS resolved this in the wake of the Civil War.

Hawaii also isn't an exception, but culturally is probably the most distinct from the rest of the US (alongside Alaska).

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