Ordered list of when each state joined the United States

One of the 50 individual entities that make up the United States and share sovereignty with the federal government is known as a state. The United States is a federal republic in which the powers of the federal government and the individual states are equally balanced. This results in dual citizenship for all Americans. There are four states (Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia) whose official names do not include the word "state," but rather "commonwealth."

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 individual 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. Depending on its population, as determined by the most recent decennial census required by the Constitution, each state is allotted a certain number of representatives in the House of Representatives, with a minimum of one representative and a maximum determined 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 specifically gives Congress the power to Union" target="_blank">admit new states into the Union in Article IV, Section 3, Clause 1. 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]

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. Ratification dates for the AoC are listed in a separate table below.) [6] The states are listed in the order in which they ratified the Constitution in 1787 and thus became part of the newly formed (and still existing) federal government. 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 or approved) Produced by 1   Delaware On this day in 1787: [8]
(ratified) "Delaware Colony" 2   Pennsylvania Wednesday, December 12th, 1787 [10]
(ratified) Pennsylvania, a Crown Colony 3   New Jersey On this day in 1787: [11]
(ratified) New Jersey, a former British colony. 4   Georgia On this day in 1788 [8]
(ratified) During the time of the British, Georgia was a crown colony. 5   Connecticut 9 January 1788 [12]
(ratified) Connecticut, a former British colony 6   Massachusetts Dated: February 6th, 1788 [8]
(ratified) Massachusetts Bay Colony, a Royal Colony 7   Maryland April 28, 1788 [8]
(ratified) The Maryland Colony was a colonial possession. 8   In the state of South Carolina1 May 23, 1788 [8]
(ratified) The Province of South Carolina, a Crown Colony 9   A New England State: June 21, 1788 [8]
(ratified) New Hampshire, a Colony of the British 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 by the Crown 12   Carolina del Norte On this day in 1789 [14]
(ratified) North Carolina, a former British colony 13   Place Name: Rhode Island1 May 29, 1790 [8]
(ratified) Colony under British Rule; Rhode Island and Providence Plantations 14   Vermont March 4, 1791 [15]
(admitted) There is a republic in Vermont. 15   Kentucky June 1, 1792 [16]
(admitted) Nine counties in Virginia's District in Kentucky(d) 16   Tennessee June 1, 1796 [18]
(admitted) Lands to the West of the Mississippi 17   Ohio March 1, 1803 [19][e]
(admitted) Northwest Territories (portion of) 18   Louisiana April 30, 1812 [21]
(admitted) Orleans Territory 19   Indiana On this date in 1816:
(admitted) The State of Indiana 20   Mississippi On this day in 1817, December 10: [22]
(admitted) Region of Mississippi 21   Illinois December 3rd, 1818 [23]
(admitted) Portion of Illinois Territory 22   Alabama This day in 1819, on December 14 [24]
(admitted) Geographical Area Including Alabama 23   Maine March 15, 1820 [25]
(admitted) District of Maine (Massachusetts) 24   Missouri Tenth of August, 1821 [26]
(admitted) Region of Missouri 25   Arkansas June 15, 1836 [27]
(admitted) The State of Arkansas 26   Michigan Friday, January 26th, 1837 [28]
(admitted) State of Michigan (Territory) 27   Florida March 3, 1845
(admitted) The State of Florida 28   Texas On this day in 1845, December 29th, [29]
(admitted) Texas Republic 29   Iowa This day in 1846, on December 28th,
(admitted) Part of Iowa was once known as the Iowa Territory. 30   Wisconsin May 29, 1848 [30]
(admitted) Piece of Wisconsin Territory 31   California Nine September, 1850 [31]
(admitted) Disordered Lands / The Mexican Cession, Part (g) 32   Minnesota May 11, 1858 [32]
(admitted) A Portion of Minnesota 33   Oregon 14 February 1859
(admitted) Regional portion of Oregon 34   Kansas Sunday, January 29th, 1861 [33]
(admitted) Partial Kansas Territory 35   A state located in western Virginia. June 20, 1863 [34]
(admitted) Fifty counties in Virginia's Trans-Allegheny area. 36   Nevada Last Updated: 31 October, 1864
(admitted) The State of Nevada 37   Nebraska March 1, 1867
(admitted) The State of Nebraska 38   Colorado On this day in 1876, August 1. [37]
(admitted) State of Colorado 39   The State of North Dakota1. Sunday, November 2, 1889 [38][i]
(admitted) A Section of Dakota Territory 40   Dakota (State) The date of November 2, 1889 [38][i]
(admitted) A Portion of Dakota Territory 41   Montana November 8th, 1889 [41]
(admitted) The State of Montana 42   Washington Tuesday, November 11th, 1889 [42]
(admitted) Western Washington 43   Idaho July 3, 1890
(admitted) Located in the state of Idaho 44   Wyoming July 10, 1890
(admitted) Location: Wyoming 45   Utah On this day in 1896: January 4 [43]
(admitted) Geographical Utah 46   Oklahoma The Date Was November 16, 1907 [44]
(admitted) Both Indian Territory and Oklahoma Territory 47   New Mexico On this day in 1912, January 6th:
(admitted) To the East, the New Mexico Territory1 48   Arizona 14 February 1912
(admitted) Land of Arizona 49   Alaska On this date in 1959:
(admitted) Alaskan territory 50   Hawaii Thursday, August 21, 1959
(admitted) Aloha! Hawaii!

A timeline of the ratification of the Articles of Confederation [ edit ]

On November 15, 1777, the Articles of Confederation were approved for submission to state legislatures for ratification by the Second Continental Congress. Once all 13 states ratified the Articles of Confederation, they became effective on March 1, 1781. 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 Sunday, December 16th, 1777 2 The State of South Carolina On this day in 1778, February 5: 3 New York On this day in history, February 6th, 1778 4 The State of Rhode Island Nineteen Seventy-Eighth Day, February 5 Connecticut 12 February 1778 6 Georgia Wednesday, February 26th, 1778 7 In the state of New Hampshire March 4, 1778 8 Pennsylvania March 5, 1778 9 Massachusetts March 10, 1778 10 The State of North Carolina April 5, 1778 11 New Jersey Saturday, November 19th, 1778 12 Delaware First day of February, 1779 13 Maryland On this day in 1781, February 2

See also [ edit ]

• The admission of California to the Union was a provision of the Compromise of 1850, a set of congressional acts.
• A series of bloody conflicts between anti-slavery and pro-slavery groups occurred in Kansas Territory between 1854 and 1861, a period known as "Bleeding Kansas."
• 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 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 did the same for the people of those territories. a vote on whether or not the two areas should be united as a single state is needed.
• The Alaska Statehood Act, which officially made Alaska a state on January 3, 1959.

Notes [ edit ]

References [ edit ]

Internet resources [ edit ]

• American State Videos History com
• Terms for the Establishment of States 50states com