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

One of the fifty entities that make up the United States and share sovereignty with the federal government is a state. Given 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 is not specifically given to or forbidden to the federal government by the United States Constitution. Concerns such as intrastate commerce, elections, the formation of local governments, public school policy, and non-federal road construction and maintenance fall under the purview of state governments. 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 most recent decennial census required by the Constitution. The Electoral College is the body that votes for President and Vice President of the United States. [3] Each state has the right to send a number of electors to the Electoral College equal to the sum of its congressional deputies and senators. [4]

The Constitution clearly gives Congress the power to decide whether or not to Union" target="_blank">admit new states into the Union in Article IV, Section 3, Clause 1. The original 13 states of the United States have been joined by 47 others since 1776. The new states have been accepted without discrimination. [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 table detailing the timeline of Acts of Consecration) Each state is listed in the order in which it ratified the Constitution in 1787 and thus became a part of the newly formed (and still existing) federal government. When a new state is admitted, the date on the list is the one officially recognized by law. [a]

List of U S states [ edit ]

State Date
(accepted; confirmed) Made up of 1   Delaware Seventh of December, 1787 [8]
(ratified) The State of Delaware as a Colony[b] 2   Pennsylvania Friday, December 12th, 1787 [10]
(ratified) Pennsylvania, a Crown Colony 3   New Jersey Instance created: 18 December 1787 [11]
(ratified) Jersey, a former British colony now a state 4   Georgia On this day in 1788 [8]
(ratified) Queen Anne's Georgian Colony 5   Connecticut The Nineteen Eighty-First Day of the Year, 1788 [12]
(ratified) The State of Connecticut, a Colony of the British Crown 6   Massachusetts Earlier this year, on February 6th, 1788 [8]
(ratified) Massachusetts Bay, a Crown Colony 7   Maryland April 28, 1788 [8]
(ratified) Province of Maryland that is currently under private ownership 8   Carolina del Sur May 23, 1788 [8]
(ratified) The Province of South Carolina, a Crown Colony 9   This New Hampshire1 June 21, 1788 [8]
(ratified) New Hampshire, a British Colony 10   Virginia June 25, 1788 [8]
(ratified) Virginia, Dominion of the Crown and Imperial Colony 11   New York July 26, 1788 [13]
(ratified) New York, a Royal Crown Colony 12   Asheville, North Carolina1 On this day in 1789 [14]
(ratified) Originally, North Carolina was a British colony. 13   This is 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) Including the nine counties that make up its District in Kentucky(d), Virginia. 16   Tennessee June 1, 1796 [18]
(admitted) The Southwestern Region 17   Ohio March 1, 1803 [19][e]
(admitted) Province of the Northwest 18   Louisiana April 30, 1812 [21]
(admitted) Places Located in the Province of Orleans 19   Indiana On this day in 1816 (December 11)
(admitted) The State of Indiana 20   Mississippi Instance created: 10 December, 1817 [22]
(admitted) Geographical Region of Mississippi 21   Illinois As of today, December 3rd, 1818 [23]
(admitted) Substantial Area of Illinois 22   Alabama Instance created: 14 December 1819 [24]
(admitted) Locales in the State of Alabama 23   Maine March 15, 1820 [25]
(admitted) District of Maine (Massachusetts) 24   Missouri Tuesday, August 10, 1821 [26]
(admitted) Separate Section of Missouri 25   Arkansas June 15, 1836 [27]
(admitted) The Arkansas Valley 26   Michigan Initially published: January 26, 1837 [28]
(admitted) The State of Michigan 27   Florida March 3, 1845
(admitted) An Area Including Florida 28   Texas The date is December 29th, 1845. [29]
(admitted) Democratic Socialists of America 29   Iowa On this day in 1846, December
(admitted) Piece of Iowa Territory 30   Wisconsin May 29, 1848 [30]
(admitted) Area of Wisconsin That Was Once Called the Wisconsin Territory 31   California Date: September 9, 1850 [31]
(admitted) A portion of the Mexican Cession that is disorganized[g] 32   Minnesota May 11, 1858 [32]
(admitted) The State of Minnesota and Adjacent Lands 33   Oregon On this day in 1859, February 14th,
(admitted) State of Oregon and Adjacent Areas 34   Kansas On this day in 1861, January 29 [33]
(admitted) A Portion of Kansas 35   Western Virginia June 20, 1863 [34]
(admitted) Fifty counties in Virginia's Trans-Allegheny area. 36   Nevada Tuesday, October 31st, 1864
(admitted) Region of Nevada 37   Nebraska March 1, 1867
(admitted) Frontier State of Nebraska 38   Colorado The First of August, 1876 [37]
(admitted) Region of Colorado 39   Geographical Location: North Dakota1 On this day in 1889, November 2 [38][i]
(admitted) A Portion of Dakota Territory 40   This is South Dakota1. On this day in 1889, November 2 [38][i]
(admitted) A Portion of Dakota Territory 41   Montana November 8th, 1889 [41]
(admitted) Located in the state of Montana. 42   Washington Adopted: 11 November 1889 [42]
(admitted) Located in Washington State 43   Idaho July 3, 1890
(admitted) Located in the state of Idaho. 44   Wyoming July 10, 1890
(admitted) Location: Wyoming, USA 45   Utah On this day in 1896: [43]
(admitted) The State of Utah 46   Oklahoma November 16th, 1907 [44]
(admitted) The Indian and Oklahoma Territories 47   New Mexico This day in 1912, on January 6
(admitted) The State of New Mexico 48   Arizona Date: February 14th, 1912
(admitted) State of Arizona 49   Alaska Day of the Year: January 3, 1959
(admitted) Anchorage, Alaska 50   Hawaii Thursday, August 21, 1959
(admitted) Hawaii's Home Islands

Times of Articles of Confederation ratification [ 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 became effective on March 1, 1781. The Articles of Confederation were abolished and the present Constitution ratified on March 4, 1789, ushering in the modern federal government. [45]

State Date 1 Virginia On this day in 1777 2 An Acronym for the State of South Carolina Wednesday, February 5th, 1778 3 New York Date: February 6, 1778 4 Providence, Rhode Island Dated: February 9th, 1778 5 Connecticut 12 February 1778 6 Georgia Thursday, February 26th, 1778 7 This 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 Thursday, November 19th, 1778 12 Delaware The First of February, 1779 13 Maryland The date was February 2, 1781.

See also [ edit ]

• The admission of California to the Union was a provision of the Compromise of 1850, a set of legislative acts passed by Congress.
• During the years 1854–1861, when Kansas was still considered part of the territory rather than a state, a series of violent conflicts broke out in the territory between anti-slavery and pro-slavery groups.
• Enabling Act of 1889, allowing citizens of the Dakota (to be split into two states), Montana, and Washington territories to organize state governments and apply for admission to the Union.
• The Oklahoma Enabling Act gave 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 Act did the same for the people of those territories. calling for a vote on whether or not the two areas should be united as a single state.
• Laws passed on December 2, 1958, and signed into law by President Eisenhower on January 3, 1959, officially admitted Alaska to the Union as the 49th and latest

Notes [ edit ]

References [ edit ]

The term "external links" is used to indicate links to websites [ edit ]

• U.S. State Videos History com
• States' birthdays 50states com