Order of U.S. statehood at the time of unionization

Each of the 50 individual states in the United States has some degree of autonomy, but ultimately shares power 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."

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. 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. 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 senators and representatives from all 50 states. Two senators and at least one representative are assigned to each state, with the size of a state's delegation in the House of Representatives determined by that 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 by Article IV, Section 3, Clause 1 of the Constitution. There are now fifty states, up from the original thirteen that existed when the United States was founded in 1776. All newly admitted states have been given full voting rights. [5]

The table below details the official statehood dates for each of the fifty US states. After signing on to the United States Declaration of Independence in July 1776, the first 13 states formally entered the Union of States in the years between 1777 and 1781 and ratified the Articles of Confederation. (See the separate table down below for the exact dates each AoC was ratified.) 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. The admission date shown for each succeeding state is the legally mandated date. [a]

List of U S states [ edit ]

State Date
(accepted or confirmed) Developed from 1   Delaware On this day in 1787: [8]
(ratified) Delaware [b] Colony. 2   Pennsylvania Thursday, December 12th, 1787 [10]
(ratified) Pennsylvania is a private province. 3   New Jersey On this day in 1787: [11]
(ratified) New Jersey, the Former Crown Colony 4   Georgia First Day of the Year, 1788 [8]
(ratified) Georgia, a British Crown Colony 5   Connecticut 9 January 1788 [12]
(ratified) Connecticut, a former British colony 6   Massachusetts 6 February 1788 [8]
(ratified) Massachusetts Bay Colony, a Crown Colony 7   Maryland April 28, 1788 [8]
(ratified) Maryland, a Colonial Colony 8   In the state of South Carolina1 May 23, 1788 [8]
(ratified) Carolina was a crown colony at the time. 9   This New Hampshire1 June 21, 1788 [8]
(ratified) New Hampshire, a Colony under British Rule 10   Virginia June 25, 1788 [8]
(ratified) Colonial Virginia, Now a Dominion 11   New York July 26, 1788 [13]
(ratified) New York, a Colony of the British Crown 12   Carolina del Norte On this day in 1789 [14]
(ratified) Originally, North Carolina was a British colony. 13   Providence, Rhode Island1 May 29, 1790 [8]
(ratified) Providence Plantations and the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, a British Crown Colony 14   Vermont March 4, 1791 [15]
(admitted) There is a republic in Vermont. 15   Kentucky June 1, 1792 [16]
(admitted) A total of nine counties in the Commonwealth of Virginia's District in the state of Kentucky[d]. 16   Tennessee June 1, 1796 [18]
(admitted) Locations to the West 17   Ohio March 1, 1803 [19][e]
(admitted) Canada's Northwest Territories 18   Louisiana April 30, 1812 [21]
(admitted) The Province of Orleans 19   Indiana Instance created: December 11, 1816
(admitted) Region of Indiana 20   Mississippi The date was December 10th, 1817. [22]
(admitted) Area encompassing the present-day state of Mississippi 21   Illinois The Third of December, 1818 [23]
(admitted) Regional Illinois 22   Alabama Tuesday, December 14, 1819 [24]
(admitted) State of Alabama 23   Maine March 15, 1820 [25]
(admitted) District of Maine (Massachusetts) 24   Missouri Tenth of August, 1821 [26]
(admitted) Extent of Missouri Territory 25   Arkansas June 15, 1836 [27]
(admitted) This is Arkansas State 26   Michigan January 26th, 1837 [28]
(admitted) Formerly Known as: Michigan Territory1 27   Florida March 3, 1845
(admitted) The State of Florida 28   Texas Saturday, December 29th, 1845 [29]
(admitted) The State of Texas as a Democratic Republic 29   Iowa On this day in 1846:
(admitted) A Portion of Iowa Territory 30   Wisconsin May 29, 1848 [30]
(admitted) The portion of Wisconsin that was once known as the 31   California Nine September, 1850 [31]
(admitted) Frontiers without government oversight / Mexican Cession (Part)[g] 32   Minnesota May 11, 1858 [32]
(admitted) Partial Minnesota Territory 33   Oregon A Date: 14 FEBRUARY 1859
(admitted) The State of Oregon, or a Portion of It 34   Kansas Date: January 29, 1861 [33]
(admitted) A Portion of Kansas 35   Western Virginia June 20, 1863 [34]
(admitted) (There are 50 counties in the Trans-Allegheny area of Virginia) 36   Nevada Observed on October 31st, 1864
(admitted) The State of Nevada 37   Nebraska March 1, 1867
(admitted) A Land Named Nebraska 38   Colorado Starting on August 1st, 1876 [37]
(admitted) Said of the area now known as Colorado: 39   That Place Called North Dakota1 The date of November 2, 1889 [38][i]
(admitted) A Portion of Dakota Territory 40   The State of South Dakota1 The date was November 2nd, 1889. [38][i]
(admitted) A Portion of the Dakotas 41   Montana November 8th, 1889 [41]
(admitted) Places in Montana 42   Washington On this date in 1889 [42]
(admitted) It's in Washington State. 43   Idaho July 3, 1890
(admitted) Territory of Idaho 44   Wyoming July 10, 1890
(admitted) Wyoming, The Old West 45   Utah Monday, January 4th, 1896 [43]
(admitted) Locale of Utah 46   Oklahoma Thursday, November 16th, 1907 [44]
(admitted) State of Oklahoma and Native American Lands 47   New Mexico 6 January 1912
(admitted) The State of New Mexico 48   Arizona 14 February 1912
(admitted) Geographical Arizona 49   Alaska On this day in 1959, January 3
(admitted) The Alaskan Territories 50   Hawaii A Day in History: August 21, 1959
(admitted) Island of 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 Articles of Confederation were abolished on March 4, 1789, and the present Constitutional Government was ratified. [45]

State Date 1 Virginia On this day in 1777 2 The State of South Carolina. On this day in 1778, February 5 3 New York This day in history: February 6th, 1778 4 The Ocean State: Rhode Island 9 February 1778 5 Connecticut Thursday, February 12th, 1778 6 Georgia Monday, February 26th, 1778 7 Primarily Used in: 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 On this day in 1778, November 19 12 Delaware The First of February, 1779 13 Maryland A Date to Remember: February 2, 1781

See also [ edit ]

• California's inclusion in the Union was made possible by the "Compromise of 1850," a collection 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 Oklahoma Enabling Act gave citizens of the Oklahoma Territory 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 citizens of those territories. calling for a vote on whether or not the two areas should be combined into one state.
• Act of Statehood for Alaska, formally admitting that state to the Union as of January 3, 1959

Notes [ edit ]

References [ edit ]

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

• "Videos of the 50 States" History com
• "Independence Day" 50states com