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

Any one of the 50 individual states that make up the United States and share sovereignty with the federal 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."

U.S. administrative divisions are typically called "states." They have all the authority that is not specifically given to or prohibited 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, or simply Congress, is a bicameral legislature made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives. In the Senate, every state has two seats, and in the House of Representatives, every state has a minimum of one representative and as many as its population warrants, as determined by the most recent decennial census required by the Constitution. In addition, [3] the number of electors a state can choose to represent it in the Electoral College, the body that votes for President and Vice President, is equal to the sum of the number of representatives and senators from that state in Congress. [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. Growing from 13 at its founding in 1776, the current number of states in the United States is 50. All new states have been granted full membership with no special treatment. [5]

In the table below, you'll find 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. Dates of AoC ratification are listed in a separate table below.) [6] The order in which these states are listed indicates the order in which they ratified the Constitution in 1787 and thus became part of the newly formed (and still existing) United States of America. If you look at the list of admitting states, you'll see the official date established by law. [a]

List of U S states [ edit ]

State Date
accept(ed) or (approved) Formed by 1   Delaware Friday, December 7th, 1787 [8]
(ratified) Delaware [b] Colony. 2   Pennsylvania On this day in 1787, December 12: [10]
(ratified) The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, a Crown Colony 3   New Jersey On this day in 1787: [11]
(ratified) New Jersey, a former British colony. 4   Georgia To begin: Tuesday, January 2, 1788 [8]
(ratified) Empire of the Crown: Georgia 5   Connecticut Wednesday, January 9th, 1788 [12]
(ratified) Connecticut, a former British colony 6   Massachusetts Earlier this year, on February 6th, 1788 [8]
(ratified) Massachusetts Bay Colony, a Royal Colony 7   Maryland April 28, 1788 [8]
(ratified) Maryland, a colonial province with a strong sense of independence 8   A State in the Southeastern United States May 23, 1788 [8]
(ratified) Originally, South Carolina was a British colony. 9   Primarily Used in: 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 Held in the Name of the Crown 12   Specifically, the state of North Carolina1. On this day in 1789 [14]
(ratified) North Carolina, a former Crown 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) There is a republic in Vermont. 15   Kentucky June 1, 1792 [16]
(admitted) In its District of Kentucky[d], Virginia includes nine counties. 16   Tennessee June 1, 1796 [18]
(admitted) Southwest Area 17   Ohio March 1, 1803 [19][e]
(admitted) North West Territories, Segment 18   Louisiana April 30, 1812 [21]
(admitted) Orleans Territory 19   Indiana On this date in 1816:
(admitted) The State of Indiana 20   Mississippi It's the 10th of December, 1817 [22]
(admitted) Mississippi Country 21   Illinois Three Days After Christmas, 1818 [23]
(admitted) The Illinois Territory, Part 22   Alabama Dated: 12/14/1819 [24]
(admitted) Lands in Alabama 23   Maine March 15, 1820 [25]
(admitted) In the state of Massachusetts (Maine[f] District). 24   Missouri Tenth of August, 1821 [26]
(admitted) Specifically, a section of Missouri. 25   Arkansas June 15, 1836 [27]
(admitted) Location: Arkansas, USA 26   Michigan January 26th, 1837 [28]
(admitted) The State of Michigan, or the Upper Peninsula 27   Florida March 3, 1845
(admitted) The State of Florida 28   Texas Sunday, December 29th, 1845 [29]
(admitted) Texan Republic 29   Iowa The 28th of December, 1846
(admitted) Specifically, the portion of Iowa's territory that is called 30   Wisconsin May 29, 1848 [30]
(admitted) Partial Wisconsin Territory 31   California Sunday, September 9, 1850 [31]
(admitted) Disordered Lands / The Mexican Cession, Part (g) 32   Minnesota May 11, 1858 [32]
(admitted) Part of Minnesota 33   Oregon The 14th of February, 1859
(admitted) A Section of Oregon Territory 34   Kansas On this day in 1861: [33]
(admitted) Part of Kansas 35   It's in West Virginia1. June 20, 1863 [34]
(admitted) There are fifty counties in Virginia that are included in the Trans-Allegheny statistical area. 36   Nevada The 31st of October, 1864
(admitted) Region of Nevada 37   Nebraska March 1, 1867
(admitted) Its Name for the State of Nebraska 38   Colorado The First of August, 1876 [37]
(admitted) Land of Colorado 39   The State of North Dakota1 As of today's date, November 2nd, 1889 [38][i]
(admitted) The Dakotas, or a Portion of It 40   Dakota (State) On this day in 1889, November 2 [38][i]
(admitted) A Portion of Dakota Territory 41   Montana Thursday, November 8th, 1889 [41]
(admitted) The State of Montana 42   Washington It all started on November 11th, 1889. [42]
(admitted) Territory of Washington 43   Idaho July 3, 1890
(admitted) This is the territory of Idaho. 44   Wyoming July 10, 1890
(admitted) Colorado State 45   Utah Day of the Year 1896: 4th January [43]
(admitted) That Part of the Country Known as Utah 46   Oklahoma Thursday, November 16th, 1907 [44]
(admitted) Locations in Indian Territory and Oklahoma 47   New Mexico 6 January 1912
(admitted) To the East, the New Mexico Territory1 48   Arizona Tuesday, February 14, 1912
(admitted) Location: Arizona 49   Alaska A Date To Remember: January 3, 1959
(admitted) Anchorage, Alaska 50   Hawaii Today in History (August 21st, 1959)
(admitted) Hawaii's Home Islands

Ratification of the Articles of Confederation [ edit ]

By a vote of 15 to 1, the Second Continental Congress approved the Articles of Confederation on November 15, 1777. After being ratified by all 13 states, the Articles of Confederation took effect 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 Citing South Carolina As of this date in 1778 (2/5) 3 New York Sixteen years ago today, on February 6th, 1778 4 A Place Called Rhode Island 9 February 1778 5 Connecticut Friday, February 12th, 1778 6 Georgia Sunday, February 26th, 1778 7 This New Hampshire March 4, 1778 8 Pennsylvania March 5, 1778 9 Massachusetts March 10, 1778 10 It's in the Tar Heel State, or North Carolina April 5, 1778 11 New Jersey On this day in 1778, November 19 12 Delaware Monday, February 1st, 1779 13 Maryland Two-Fourths of February, 1781

See also [ edit ]

• As part of the legislative package known as the "Compromise of 1850," California's incorporation into the Union was guaranteed.
• The years 1854–1861, just before Kansas became a state, were marked by a string of violent conflicts in the Kansas Territory between anti-slavery and pro-slavery groups.
• 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.
• 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 ]

Hyperlinks to other sites [ edit ]

• "Videos of the 50 United States" History com
• "Birth dates of nations" 50states com