About conditions imposed on new states, Congress required in 1863 that West Virginia's constitution include a clause outlawing slavery before admission to the Union (and the Virginia General Assembly then meeting in Alexandria gave its consent to West Virginia's admission, complying with the relevant clause in the U.S. Constitution), and I think I am correct in remembering that there was a major debate in Congress whether to admit Utah without a prohibition on polygamy in its state constitution. Whether I am correctly remembering that Utah then amended its constitution to admit polygamy is perhaps a topic for another list. Brent Tarter The Library of Virginia [log in to unmask] Visit the Library of Virginia's Web site at http://www.lva.lib.va.us To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html