A chronological listing of when each state joined the United States

One of the fifty entities that make up the United States and share sovereignty with the federal government is a state. Due to the division of powers between the federal government and the individual states, Americans hold dual citizenship. [1]The full official names of the states of Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia all include the word "commonwealth" rather than "state."

The 50 states make up the main divisions of the USA. Without any restrictions placed on them by the United States Constitution, they are vested with all powers not specifically granted to or prohibited by the federal government. Local matters, such as intrastate commerce, elections, the formation of local governments, public school policy, and non-federal road construction and maintenance, are generally under the purview of state governments. Generally speaking, republican principles form the basis for each individual state's constitution and government, which is made up of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. [2]

The United States Congress is a bicameral legislature, composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives, from which citizens of all 50 states and the District of Columbia can elect their own representatives. There are two senators and at least one representative from each state, with the size of each state's delegation in the House of Representatives determined by the state's population as of the most recent decennial census required by the Constitution. In addition, the Electoral College, the body that chooses the President and Vice President of the United States, grants each state a number of electors equal to the sum of its congressional deputies and senators. [4]

The Constitution specifically gives Congress the power to Union" target="_blank">admit new states into the Union in Article IV, Section 3, Clause 1. There are now fifty states, up from the original thirteen that existed when the United States was founded in 1776. All newly admitted states are treated on par with the others. [5]

The table below details the dates of statehood for all 50 US states. After signing on to the Declaration of Independence in July 1776, the first 13 states formally entered the Union of States between 1777 and 1781 by ratifying the Articles of Confederation. (See below for a separate table detailing the ratification dates of the AoC.) In the order in which they joined the new (and current) federal government after ratifying the Constitution in 1787, these states are listed below. Dates of admission for subsequent states are those officially recognized by law. [a]

List of U S states [ edit ]

State Date
acceptance or approval Based on 1   Delaware Seventh of December, 1787 [8]
(ratified) The state of Delaware as a colony[b]. 2   Pennsylvania On this day in 1787, December 12 [10]
(ratified) Pennsylvania, a Crown Colony 3   New Jersey On this day in 1787: [11]
(ratified) Crown Colony of New Jersey 4   Georgia Two Hundred and Eighty-Eighth Day of the Year [8]
(ratified) Empire of the Crown: Georgia 5   Connecticut 9 January 1788 [12]
(ratified) Connecticut, a former British colony 6   Massachusetts On this day in 1788, February 6 [8]
(ratified) The Province of Massachusetts Bay, a British Colony 7   Maryland April 28, 1788 [8]
(ratified) Located in the Northeastern United States, Maryland is a colony. 8   Carolina del Sur May 23, 1788 [8]
(ratified) The South Carolina Crown Colony 9   For the state of New Hampshire1, see: June 21, 1788 [8]
(ratified) New Hampshire, a British Crown Colony 10   Virginia June 25, 1788 [8]
(ratified) Virginia, Dominated Crown Colony and Currently Reigning Monarchy 11   New York July 26, 1788 [13]
(ratified) New York, the "Crown Colony" 12   Asheville, North Carolina1 Tuesday, November 21st, 1789 [14]
(ratified) Royal Colony of North Carolina 13   To the State of Rhode Island1 May 29, 1790 [8]
(ratified) Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Royal Colony 14   Vermont March 4, 1791 [15]
(admitted) The Republic of Vermont 15   Kentucky June 1, 1792 [16]
(admitted) With nine counties in its District of Kentucky[d], Virginia is a large state. 16   Tennessee June 1, 1796 [18]
(admitted) Territory to the Southwest 17   Ohio March 1, 1803 [19][e]
(admitted) Canada's Northwest Territories 18   Louisiana April 30, 1812 [21]
(admitted) Orleans Territory 19   Indiana Instance created: December 11, 1816
(admitted) Geographical Region Including Indiana 20   Mississippi Dated: December 10th, 1817 [22]
(admitted) Region of Mississippi 21   Illinois The Third of December, 1818 [23]
(admitted) Region of Illinois 22   Alabama Tuesday, December 14, 1819 [24]
(admitted) State of Alabama 23   Maine March 15, 1820 [25]
(admitted) In the state of Massachusetts (Maine[f] District). 24   Missouri The Tenth of August, 1821 [26]
(admitted) A Portion of Missouri Territory 25   Arkansas June 15, 1836 [27]
(admitted) Region of Arkansas 26   Michigan Wednesday, January 26th, 1837 [28]
(admitted) The State of Michigan 27   Florida March 3, 1845
(admitted) In the Florida Panhandle 28   Texas It's the 29th of December, 1845 [29]
(admitted) Texas Republic 29   Iowa Dated: December 28th, 1846
(admitted) Section of Iowa That Was Once Known As 30   Wisconsin May 29, 1848 [30]
(admitted) Region of Wisconsin 31   California Wednesday, September 9, 1850 [31]
(admitted) Unorganized territory / Mexican Cession (part)[g] 32   Minnesota May 11, 1858 [32]
(admitted) A Section of Minnesota 33   Oregon Date: February 14, 1859
(admitted) An Area of Oregon Territory 34   Kansas On this day in 1861: [33]
(admitted) Part of Kansas Territory 35   It's in West Virginia1. June 20, 1863 [34]
(admitted) Specifically, the fifty counties that make up Virginia's Trans-Allegheny region. 36   Nevada Instance Date: October 31, 1864
(admitted) This is Nevada Country. 37   Nebraska March 1, 1867
(admitted) The State of Nebraska 38   Colorado The First of August, 1876 [37]
(admitted) Colorado, The Territorial State 39   State of North Dakota1 Two thousand and eleven on November [38][i]
(admitted) Area Including the State of Dakota 40   South Dakota Day of the Dead, November 2, 1889 [38][i]
(admitted) This portion of Dakota Territory 41   Montana Day that November 8th, 1889, Began [41]
(admitted) The State of Montana 42   Washington On this day in 1889, November 11: [42]
(admitted) State of Washington 43   Idaho July 3, 1890
(admitted) The State of Idaho 44   Wyoming July 10, 1890
(admitted) The State of Wyoming 45   Utah On this day in 1896: January 4 [43]
(admitted) The State of Utah 46   Oklahoma November 16th, 1907 [44]
(admitted) Locations in Indian Territory and Oklahoma 47   New Mexico Dated: January 6th, 1912
(admitted) A portion of the state of New Mexico 48   Arizona A Date: February 14, 1912
(admitted) Territorial Status: Arizona 49   Alaska It all started on this day in 1959, January 3rd.
(admitted) Alaskan territory 50   Hawaii On this day in 1959, August 21st,
(admitted) Hawaiian Home Islands

Timeline of the Ratification of the Articles of Confederation [ edit ]

On November 15, 1777, the Articles of Confederation were approved by the Second Continental Congress and sent to the individual states for ratification. After being ratified by all 13 states, the Articles of Confederation took effect on March 1, 1781. There was a change from the Articles of Confederation to the present Constitutional Federal Government on March 4, 1789. [45]

State Date 1 Virginia In the year 1777, on December 16th, 2 Carolina del Sur The date was February 5th, 1778. 3 New York Monday, February 6th, 1778 4 The Ocean State: Rhode Island Monday, February 9, 1778 5 Connecticut 12 February 1778 6 Georgia February 26th, 1778 7 It's in the Granite State, New Hampshire March 4, 1778 8 Pennsylvania March 5, 1778 9 Massachusetts March 10, 1778 10 Carolina del Norte April 5, 1778 11 New Jersey November 19th, 1778 12 Delaware Monday, February 1st, 1779 13 Maryland The date was February 2, 1781.

See also [ edit ]

• The admission of California to the Union was a part of the Compromise of 1850, a set of legislative acts passed by Congress.
• Conflicts between anti-slavery and pro-slavery groups in Kansas Territory escalated into bloody clashes in the years leading up to Kansas's statehood in 1861, a period known as "Bleeding Kansas."
• This was made possible by the Enabling Act of 1889, which gave the people of the Dakota, Montana, and Washington territories the right to organize themselves into states (with Dakota being split into two separate states) and apply for admission to the Union.
• The Oklahoma Enabling Act granted the people of Oklahoma and the Indian Territory the right to organize a state government and seek admission to the Union as a single state. The New Mexico and Arizona Admission Acts granted the people of those territories the same rights. calling for a vote on whether or not the two areas should be combined into one state.
• On January 3, 1959, Alaska officially became a state thanks to the Alaska Statehood Act.

Notes [ edit ]

References [ edit ]

Web Resources [ edit ]

• "Videos of the 50 States of the USA" History com
• Constitutional ratification and statehood formation dates 50states com