Date of admission to the Union is listed for each state in the United States.

A state is one of the fifty individual entities that together make up the United States of America and share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of the division of powers between the federal government and the individual states, Americans hold dual citizenship. [1]In their official state names, the Commonwealth of Kentucky, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and Commonwealth of Virginia use the term commonwealth rather than state.

It is the states that serve as the most basic organizational units for the American Federation. 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 the construction and maintenance of non-federal roads are generally under the purview of state governments. Republican principles form the basis for each state's constitution and government, which consists of an executive, legislative, and judicial branch. [2]

The United States Congress is a bicameral legislature made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives, both of which are elected by the citizens of their respective states. The number of representatives each state has in the House of Representatives is based on the population count from 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, allows each state to send a number of voters to vote there that is equal to the sum of its congressional deputies and senators. [4]

Congress has the power to Union" target="_blank">admit new states into the Union per Article IV, Section 3, Clause 1 of the Constitution. In the 240 years since the United States' founding in 1776, the number of states has increased from its original 13. There has been no discrimination against any of the new states in their admission. [5]

Here's a handy table with all 50 states and the days they became independent. After signing on to the Declaration of Independence in July 1776, the original 13 states entered the Union of States in the years between 1777 and 1781. At that time, they also ratified the Articles of Confederation, the country's first constitution. (See below for a table detailing the timeline of Acts of Consecration) The order in which these states are listed reflects the order in which they voted to join the new (and current) federal government after ratifying the Constitution in 1787. Each subsequent state's admission date is a statutory deadline established by Congress. [a]

List of U S states [ edit ]

State Date
(accepted or approved) Consisting of 1   Delaware December 7, 1787 [8]
(ratified) The State of Delaware as a Colony[b]. 2   Pennsylvania This day in 1787, on December 12 [10]
(ratified) Pennsylvania, a Crown Colony 3   New Jersey This day in 1787, on the 18th, [11]
(ratified) The New Jersey Crown Colony 4   Georgia On this day in 1788 [8]
(ratified) Empire of the Crown: Georgia 5   Connecticut 9 January 1788 [12]
(ratified) New England's Crown Colony 6   Massachusetts The sixth of February, 1788 [8]
(ratified) Massachusetts Bay, a Crown Colony 7   Maryland April 28, 1788 [8]
(ratified) Maryland, a colonial-era colony 8   Colony State of South Carolina1 May 23, 1788 [8]
(ratified) Royal Province of South Carolina 9   Specifically, the state of New Hampshire1 June 21, 1788 [8]
(ratified) New Hampshire, a British Crown Colony. 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 Under the Crown 12   To the State of North Carolina1 On this day in 1789 [14]
(ratified) North Carolina, a former Crown Colony 13   A Place Called Rhode Island1 May 29, 1790 [8]
(ratified) Providence Plantations, Rhode Island, and the Crown Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations 14   Vermont March 4, 1791 [15]
(admitted) The Republic of 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) Continent's Southwestern Region 17   Ohio March 1, 1803 [19][e]
(admitted) Canada's Northwest Territories 18   Louisiana April 30, 1812 [21]
(admitted) French for "Orange Land"; the Orleans Region 19   Indiana On this day in 1816, December 11
(admitted) This is Indiana State 20   Mississippi Dated: 12-10-1817 [22]
(admitted) The Mississippi Delta Region 21   Illinois Monday, December 3, 1818 [23]
(admitted) Area of Illinois 22   Alabama Thursday, December 14, 1819 [24]
(admitted) States of Alabama 23   Maine March 15, 1820 [25]
(admitted) District of Maine (Massachusetts) 24   Missouri On this day in 1821, August 10: [26]
(admitted) A Portion of Missouri Territory 25   Arkansas June 15, 1836 [27]
(admitted) Region of Arkansas 26   Michigan January 26th, 1837 [28]
(admitted) Region of Michigan 27   Florida March 3, 1845
(admitted) State of Florida 28   Texas Tuesday, December 29th, 1845 [29]
(admitted) TX Republic 29   Iowa On this day in 1846:
(admitted) Partial Iowa Territory 30   Wisconsin May 29, 1848 [30]
(admitted) Partial Wisconsin Territory 31   California Saturday, September 9, 1850 [31]
(admitted) Partially Organized Lands / Mexican Cession [g] 32   Minnesota May 11, 1858 [32]
(admitted) Region of Minnesota 33   Oregon 14 February 1859
(admitted) Regional portion of Oregon 34   Kansas On this day in 1861, January 29: [33]
(admitted) A Portion of Kansas 35   There's no place like West Virginia1 June 20, 1863 [34]
(admitted) Specifically, the fifty counties that make up Virginia's Trans-Allegheny region. 36   Nevada October 31st, 1864
(admitted) Location: Nevada, USA 37   Nebraska March 1, 1867
(admitted) Nebraska State 38   Colorado The First of August, 1876 [37]
(admitted) Land of Colorado 39   The state of North Dakota1 On this day in 1889, November 2 [38][i]
(admitted) Area Including the State of Dakota 40   This is South Dakota1. The date of November 2, 1889 [38][i]
(admitted) The Dakotas, or a Portion of It 41   Montana November 8th, 1889 [41]
(admitted) Location: Montana, USA 42   Washington This day in 1889, November 11 [42]
(admitted) Geographical Indication of Washington State 43   Idaho July 3, 1890
(admitted) Location: Idaho, in the Territory 44   Wyoming July 10, 1890
(admitted) The State of Wyoming 45   Utah Initially published: January 4, 1896 [43]
(admitted) The State of Utah 46   Oklahoma Tuesday, November 16th, 1907 [44]
(admitted) Locations in Indian Territory and Oklahoma 47   New Mexico 6 January 1912
(admitted) A portion of the state of New Mexico 48   Arizona Tuesday, February 14, 1912
(admitted) This is Arizona State Land 49   Alaska Dated: January 3rd, 1959
(admitted) Arctic Alaskan Territories 50   Hawaii The date of August 21, 1959
(admitted) Hawaii's Home Islands

Dates of Articles of Confederation Ratification [ edit ]

On November 15, 1777, the Articles of Confederation were approved for ratification by the states by the Second Continental Congress. On March 1, 1781, the Articles of Confederation became active after being ratified by all 13 states. The Articles of Confederation were abolished on March 4, 1789, and the current federal government under the Constitution was established. [45]

State Date 1 Virginia On this day in 1777 2 Specifically, the state of South Carolina. Friday, February 5th, 1778 3 New York Sunday, February 6th, 1778 4 The State of Rhode Island Wednesday, February 9th, 1778 5 Connecticut 12 February 1778 6 Georgia On this date in 1778, February 26th, 7 Specifically, the state of 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 A Day in History: February 1st, 1779 13 Maryland It all started on February 2nd, 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.
• 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.
• In 1889, Congress passed the Enabling Act, which allowed the people of the Dakota, Montana, and Washington territories to organize themselves politically as states and apply for admission to the Union.
• The New Mexico and Arizona Admission Acts and the Oklahoma Enabling Act respectively granted permission for the people of New Mexico and the Indian Territory to organize a state government and to seek admission to the Union as a new state. a vote on whether or not the two areas should be united as a single state is needed.
• The Alaska Statehood Act officially made Alaska a state on January 3, 1959.

Notes [ edit ]

References [ edit ]

Internet resources [ edit ]

• "Videos of the 50 States" History com
• Times when nations were officially established 50states com