Date of admission to the Union is listed for each state in 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. Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia are the only states whose full official names do not include the word "state," opting instead for the term "commonwealth."

The 50 states make up the main divisions of the USA. They have complete authority over all matters not specifically delegated to the federal government or expressly prohibited by the United States Constitution. 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. Each state's government is structured similarly to the federal government, with an executive, legislative, and judicial branch. However, each state's constitution is based on republican principles. [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. 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. There's also the Electoral College, which votes for the President and Vice President of the United States, of which each state gets a certain number of representatives and senators to represent it. [4]

The power to Union" target="_blank">admit new states into the Union is delegated to Congress in Article IV, Section 3, Clause 1 of the Constitution. The original 13 states of the United States have been joined by 47 others since 1776. Each newly admitted state has been given full voting rights alongside the rest. [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. In the following sections, each state's admission date is the statutory deadline established by Congress. [a]

List of U S states [ edit ]

State Date
(accepted; confirmed) Originating from 1   Delaware Dated: December 7th, 1787 [8]
(ratified) The state of Delaware as a colony[b]. 2   Pennsylvania Dated: 12 December 1787 [10]
(ratified) Pennsylvania, a Crown Colony 3   New Jersey Thursday, December 18th, 1787 [11]
(ratified) New Jersey, a former British colony. 4   Georgia Dated: January 2nd, 1788 [8]
(ratified) Colony of the British Crown in Georgia 5   Connecticut Sunday, January 9th, 1788 [12]
(ratified) Connecticut, a former British colony 6   Massachusetts Adopted: 6 February 1788 [8]
(ratified) Massachusetts Bay Colony, 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) 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) Commonwealth of Virginia, Dominion of the Crown 11   New York July 26, 1788 [13]
(ratified) The New York Crown Colony 12   The state of North Carolina1. On this day in 1789 [14]
(ratified) Kingdom of North Carolina 13   Specifically, the state of Rhode Island1 May 29, 1790 [8]
(ratified) Providence Plantations and the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, British Colony 14   Vermont March 4, 1791 [15]
(admitted) Vermont's [c]Republic 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) State or Province Forming Part of the Province of Orleans 19   Indiana On this date in 1816:
(admitted) Its Location: The Indiana Territory1 20   Mississippi On this day in 1817, December 10 [22]
(admitted) Region of Mississippi 21   Illinois December 3rd, 1818 [23]
(admitted) The Illinois Territory, Part 22   Alabama On this day in 1819, December 14 [24]
(admitted) State of Alabama 23   Maine March 15, 1820 [25]
(admitted) Specifically, the State of Massachusetts (Maine[f] District). 24   Missouri Tuesday, August 10, 1821 [26]
(admitted) A Portion of Missouri Territory 25   Arkansas June 15, 1836 [27]
(admitted) The Arkansas Valley 26   Michigan The 26th of January, 1837 [28]
(admitted) The State of Michigan 27   Florida March 3, 1845
(admitted) The State of Florida 28   Texas The 29th of December, 1845 [29]
(admitted) Texas Republic 29   Iowa Tuesday, December 28th, 1846
(admitted) A Portion of Iowa Territory 30   Wisconsin May 29, 1848 [30]
(admitted) A Section of Wisconsin 31   California Tuesday, September 9, 1850 [31]
(admitted) Disordered Lands / The Mexican Cession, Part (g) 32   Minnesota May 11, 1858 [32]
(admitted) Piece of Minnesota Territory 33   Oregon 14 February 1859
(admitted) The State of Oregon and Adjacent Areas 34   Kansas On this day in 1861: [33]
(admitted) A Portion of Kansas 35   "West Virginia1" June 20, 1863 [34]
(admitted) (There are 50 counties in the Trans-Allegheny area of Virginia) 36   Nevada When October 31st, 1864 rolled around,
(admitted) Located in the state of Nevada 37   Nebraska March 1, 1867
(admitted) A Land Named Nebraska 38   Colorado Monday, August 1st, 1876 [37]
(admitted) The Colorado Area 39   We're in North Dakota1. Wednesday, November 2nd, 1889 [38][i]
(admitted) A Portion of Dakota Territory 40   It's in the Badlands of South Dakota1. Earlier today, on November 2nd, 1889, [38][i]
(admitted) A Portion of Dakota Territory 41   Montana Friday, November 8th, 1889 [41]
(admitted) Places in Montana 42   Washington Monday, November 11, 1889 [42]
(admitted) Location: The State of Washington 43   Idaho July 3, 1890
(admitted) Geographical ID: The Gem State of Idaho 44   Wyoming July 10, 1890
(admitted) In the state of Wyoming. 45   Utah On this day in 1896: [43]
(admitted) UT - Utah Valley 46   Oklahoma November 16th, 1907 [44]
(admitted) It's both Indian Territory and Oklahoma Territory. 47   New Mexico The date was January 6th, 1912
(admitted) Land of New Mexico 48   Arizona On this day in 1912, February 14th,
(admitted) Specifically, the Arizona State Region 49   Alaska On this date in 1959:
(admitted) Arctic Alaskan Territories 50   Hawaii On this date in 1959:
(admitted) Hawaii, a territory

Dates 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. By March 1, 1781, all 13 states had ratified the Articles of Confederation, making them legally binding. The current federal government, established under the Constitution, succeeded the general government under the Articles on March 4, 1789. [45]

State Date 1 Virginia Friday, December 16th, 1777 2 Specifically, the state of South Carolina. 05 Février 1778 3 New York On this day in 1778, February 6 4 The Ocean State: Rhode Island 9 February 1778 5 Connecticut 12 February 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 Specifically, the state of North Carolina. April 5, 1778 11 New Jersey Sunday, 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 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.
• The Enabling Act of 1889 gave the people of the Dakota, Montana, and Washington territories the legal right to organize themselves into new states and join the Union.
• The Oklahoma Enabling Act gave the people of Oklahoma and the Indian Territory the legal right to organize a state government and seek admission to the Union as a single state. The New Mexico and Arizona Admission Acts did the same for the people of those territories. necessitating a vote in a referendum to decide whether or not the two areas should be united as a single state
• On January 3, 1959, Alaska was officially admitted to the Union as a result of the Alaska Statehood Act.

Notes [ edit ]

References [ edit ]

Internet resources [ edit ]

• "Videos of the 50 States of the United States" History com
• Terms for the Establishment of States 50states com