An orderly list of the U.S. states' admission to the Union

The 50 individual states that make up the United States of America are co-sovereign entities with the central government. 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. They have all the authority that isn't given to or restricted to the federal government. In most cases, state governments are responsible for overseeing activities that affect only their respective territories, such as intrastate commerce regulation, election administration, municipal formation, public school policy, and the building and upkeep of roads that are not funded by the federal government. Republican principles form the basis for each state's constitution and government, which is made up of an executive, legislative, and judicial branch. [2]

The United States Congress is a bicameral legislature made up of senators and representatives from all 50 states. Each state has two senators and at least one representative, with the size of each state's delegation in the House of Representatives determined by the state's population as of the last decennial census required by the Constitution. In addition, the number of electors a state can choose to represent it in the Electoral College, the body responsible for choosing the President and Vice President of the United States, is equal to the sum of its congressional deputies. [4]

The power to Union" target="_blank">admit new states into the Union is delegated to Congress by Article IV, Section 3, Clause 1 of the Constitution. The original 13 states that made up the United States in 1776 have since been joined by another 39. All newly admitted states have been given full voting rights. [5]

Below is a table with information about when each of the 50 states became independent. After signing on to the United States 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.) These states are listed in the order in which they joined the new (and current) federal government upon ratification of the Constitution in 1787. Dates of admission for subsequent states are those officially recognized by law. [a]

List of U S states [ edit ]

State Date
(acknowledged or confirmed) Developed from 1   Delaware When: 7 December 1787 [8]
(ratified) The State of Delaware, or the Delaware Colony[b]. 2   Pennsylvania On this day in 1787 (December 12), [10]
(ratified) Pennsylvania, a Crown Colony 3   New Jersey The 18th of December, 1787 [11]
(ratified) New Jersey, a former British colony. 4   Georgia Two Hundred and Eighty-Eighth Day of the Year [8]
(ratified) Kingdom of Georgia 5   Connecticut The Nineteen Eighty-First Day of the Year, 1788 [12]
(ratified) State of Connecticut, Royal Colony 6   Massachusetts 6 February 1788 [8]
(ratified) Massachusetts Bay Colony, a Crown Colony 7   Maryland April 28, 1788 [8]
(ratified) Maryland, a colonial possession 8   Carolina del Sur May 23, 1788 [8]
(ratified) South Carolina, a Crown Colony 9   This New Hampshire1 June 21, 1788 [8]
(ratified) New Hampshire, a Colony under the Crown 10   Virginia June 25, 1788 [8]
(ratified) Virginia, Dominated Colony of the Crown 11   New York July 26, 1788 [13]
(ratified) New York, a Colony of the British Crown 12   Purpose: The State of North Carolina1 In the year 1789, on November 21st, [14]
(ratified) North Carolina, the Crown Colony 13   Location: Rhode Island1 May 29, 1790 [8]
(ratified) Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Royal Colony 14   Vermont March 4, 1791 [15]
(admitted) Vermont's [c]Republic 15   Kentucky June 1, 1792 [16]
(admitted) (9 counties in its District in Kentucky[d]) Virginia. 16   Tennessee June 1, 1796 [18]
(admitted) The Southwestern Region 17   Ohio March 1, 1803 [19][e]
(admitted) Alaska, Northwest, and Canadian Territories 18   Louisiana April 30, 1812 [21]
(admitted) Area Known as Orleans 19   Indiana Tuesday, December 11th, 1816
(admitted) The State of Indiana 20   Mississippi Instance created: 10 December, 1817 [22]
(admitted) Mississippi Country 21   Illinois Dated: December 3rd, 1818 [23]
(admitted) Substantial Area of Illinois 22   Alabama Friday, December 14, 1819 [24]
(admitted) Region of Alabama 23   Maine March 15, 1820 [25]
(admitted) Region of Maine(f): Massachusetts 24   Missouri On this day in 1821, August 10 [26]
(admitted) An Area of Missouri 25   Arkansas June 15, 1836 [27]
(admitted) Regional Term for Arkansas 26   Michigan January 26th, 1837 [28]
(admitted) Formerly Known as: Michigan Territory1 27   Florida March 3, 1845
(admitted) The State of Florida 28   Texas Monday, December 29th, 1845 [29]
(admitted) State of Texas as a Republic 29   Iowa Yesterday, on the 28th of December, 1846
(admitted) Section of Iowa That Was Once Known As 30   Wisconsin May 29, 1848 [30]
(admitted) A Section of Wisconsin 31   California Saturday, September 9, 1850 [31]
(admitted) A portion of Mexico's Cession to the United States that is still disorganized. 32   Minnesota May 11, 1858 [32]
(admitted) A Section of Minnesota 33   Oregon Earlier today, on February 14th, 1859
(admitted) A Section of Oregon Territory 34   Kansas This day in 1861, January 29 [33]
(admitted) Section of Kansas Territory 35   There's no place like West Virginia1 June 20, 1863 [34]
(admitted) Fifty counties in Virginia's Trans-Allegheny area. 36   Nevada Date: October 31, 1864
(admitted) The State of Nevada 37   Nebraska March 1, 1867
(admitted) In the State of Nebraska 38   Colorado Beginning on August 1st, 1876 [37]
(admitted) The Colorado Region 39   Location: North Dakota1 On this day in 1889, November 2 [38][i]
(admitted) The Dakotas, or a Portion of It 40   A State in the Midwestern U.S. Dated: November 2nd, 1889 [38][i]
(admitted) This portion of Dakota Territory 41   Montana Sunday, November 8th, 1889 [41]
(admitted) The State of Montana 42   Washington Dated: November 11th, 1889 [42]
(admitted) The State of Washington 43   Idaho July 3, 1890
(admitted) Territory of Idaho 44   Wyoming July 10, 1890
(admitted) This is Wyoming Country. 45   Utah The Fourth of January, 1896 [43]
(admitted) Location: Utah 46   Oklahoma The Date Is November 16th, 1907 [44]
(admitted) The Indian and Oklahoma Territories 47   New Mexico A Date: January 6, 1912
(admitted) Location: New Mexico, USA 48   Arizona Thursday, February 14th, 1912
(admitted) Location: Arizona 49   Alaska Wednesday, January 3, 1959
(admitted) The Alaskan Territories 50   Hawaii Wednesday, August 21, 1959
(admitted) Oahu, Hawaii

Ratification of the Articles of Confederation [ edit ]

On this day in 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. The current federal government, established under the Constitution, succeeded the general government under the Articles on March 4, 1789. [45]

State Date 1 Virginia Dated: December 16th, 1777 2 Carolina del Sur 05 Février 1778 3 New York Dated: February 6th, 1778 4 That place called Rhode Island The Nineteenth of February, 1778 5 Connecticut Tuesday, February 12th, 1778 6 Georgia Tuesday, February 26th, 1778 7 Element: New Hampshire March 4, 1778 8 Pennsylvania March 5, 1778 9 Massachusetts March 10, 1778 10 Specifically, the state of North Carolina. April 5, 1778 11 New Jersey November 19th, 1778 12 Delaware Monday, February 1st, 1779 13 Maryland Two-Fourths of February, 1781

See also [ edit ]

• A set of laws passed by Congress in 1850 known as the "Compromise of 1850" included a clause guaranteeing California's entry into the Union.
• During the years 1854–1861, when Kansas was still considered part of the territory of Kansas, a series of violent conflicts broke out between anti-slavery and pro-slavery groups, earning the region the nickname "Bleeding Kansas."
• The Enabling Act of 1889 granted the people of the Dakota, Montana, and Washington territories the right to organize themselves into new states and join the Union.
• With the passage of the Oklahoma Enabling Act, residents of the Indian Territory and the Oklahoma Territory were granted permission to unite under a single state government and were admitted to the Union as a single state. calling for a vote on whether or not the two areas should be combined into one state.
• The Alaska Statehood Act officially made Alaska a state on January 3, 1959.

Notes [ edit ]

References [ edit ]

Web Resources [ edit ]

• Watch videos from each state in the United States. History com
• "Independence Day" 50states com