From Sea to Shinning Sea

I am aware of only one part of the Constitution that pertains to the formation of new states, Article IV, Section 3:

"New States may be admitted by the Congress to this Union; but no new State may be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or Parts of States, without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned and of the Congress."

This would seem to have prohibited the formation of West Virginia, but Virginia had seceded from the Union by the time that West Virginia seceded from Virginia.  Virginia tried to reclaim West Virginia after the war, but the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately ruled against them.

Virginia was the first British colony established in America, its charter being issued by King James I in 1606.  I don't think James knew exactly how wide North America was because he assigned all the land that lay between 34 degrees and 41 degrees N latitude from the Atlantic to the Pacific oceans to the new colony.  Virginia's northern and southern borders were subsequently altered by other kings with the formation of the colonies of Maryland and North Carolina.  There was some confusion about the western border following the French and Indian War.  "After the (American) Revolution, the new United States government urged those states with extensive land claims to donate that land to the federal government."  Some other stuff happened along the way, but that pretty well sums it up.  I only looked up Virginia tonight, but there are likely a few other states with similar histories. 

Source: "How the States Got Their Shapes" by Mark Stein