State cessions

Okay, so imagine you have a pizza and you slice it into eight pieces. You decide to give two pieces to your friend who is sitting beside you. That means you gave away two pieces from your pizza, right? That's kinda like what state cessions are!

A long time ago, the United States was made up of a bunch of different states. When some of these states wanted to form new states, they had to ask permission from other states who had more power. Sometimes, these powerful states would agree to let them become their own state, but in exchange, the new state would give up some of its land to the powerful state. This is called a state cession.

For example, when West Virginia wanted to become its own state, it used to be part of Virginia. But Virginia allowed it to leave and become its own state, as long as it gave up some of its land. They agreed to this, and now West Virginia is its own state with its own government and everything!

So basically, a state cession is when one state gives up some of its land to another state so that a new state can be formed. It's like sharing your pizza with your friends and giving them some slices!