An anniversary that points toward greater justice

If you've been phoning or canvassing the state of Nevada for Biden-Harris, you probably never thought about how that huge desert area became a state. 

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Nevada's admission to the Union on October 31, 1864, was a case of the kind of constitutional hardball that we're probably going to be urging the Democrats to get on with in order to rescue democracy.

Here's a simple version of Nevada's story from History.com:

On October 31, 1864, anxious to have support of the Republican-dominated Nevada Territory for President Abraham Lincoln’s reelection, the U.S. Congress quickly admits Nevada as the 36th state in the Union.

In 1864, Nevada had only 40,000 inhabitants, considerably short of the 60,000 normally required for statehood. ...

The decisive factor in easing the path to Nevada’s statehood was President Lincoln’s proposed 13th Amendment banning slavery. Throughout his administration Lincoln had appointed territorial officials in Nevada who were strong Republicans, and he knew he could count on the congressmen and citizens of a new state of Nevada to support him in the coming presidential election and to vote for his proposed amendment.

Since time was so short, the Nevada constitutional delegation sent the longest telegram on record up to that time to Washington, D.C., containing the entire text of the proposed state constitution and costing the then astronomical sum of $3,416.77.

Their speedy actions paid off with quick congressional approval of statehood and the new state of Nevada did indeed provide strong support for Lincoln. On January 31, 1865, Congress approved the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution banning slavery.

Let's be ready to push today's Democrats to be equally ruthless about admitting the District of Colombia -- and the territory of Puerto Rico if Puerto Ricans want it -- as new states. 

It's all part of our progress toward that "new birth of freedom" which Lincoln heralded at Gettysburg shortly before making Nevada a state.