Ordered list of when each state joined the United States

Each of the 50 states in the United States is a sovereign nation in its own right, with equal authority from the federal government and the people. 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 are the most basic administrative 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. As a rule, it is up to the individual states to handle matters that affect its citizens directly, such as intrastate commerce, elections, the formation of municipalities, public education policy, and the building and upkeep of roads not funded by the federal government. Every state has its own government, with its own constitution and set of laws based on republican principles. [2]

The United States Congress is a bicameral legislature made up of senators and representatives from all 50 states. There are two senators and at least one representative from each state, with the size of each 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. In addition, the number of electors a state can choose to represent it in the Electoral College, the body responsible for choosing the President and Vice President of the United States, is equal to the number 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. Growing from 13 at its founding in 1776, the current number of states in the United States is 50. The admission standards for each new state are the same as those for the preexisting states. [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 in the years between 1777 and 1781 by ratifying the Articles of Confederation. (See the separate table down below for the exact dates each AoC was ratified.) These states are listed in the order in which they joined the new (and current) federal government upon ratification of 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; confirmed) Produced by 1   Delaware The 7th of December, 1787 [8]
(ratified) Delaware Colony[b] 2   Pennsylvania On this date in 1787: [10]
(ratified) Pennsylvania, a Colonial Possession 3   New Jersey Saturday, December 18th, 1787 [11]
(ratified) Kingdom of New Jersey 4   Georgia On this day in 1788 [8]
(ratified) Georgia, a British Crown Colony 5   Connecticut 9 January 1788 [12]
(ratified) Connecticut, a former British colony 6   Massachusetts Sunday, February 6th, 1788 [8]
(ratified) Massachusetts Bay, a Crown Colony 7   Maryland April 28, 1788 [8]
(ratified) Maryland, a colonial possession 8   The State of South Carolina1. May 23, 1788 [8]
(ratified) South Carolina, a Crown Colony 9   It's in the Granite State, 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 of the British Crown 12   Carolina del Norte The date November 21st, 1789 [14]
(ratified) British North Carolina Colony 13   A Place Called Rhode Island1 May 29, 1790 [8]
(ratified) Known as the Crown Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations 14   Vermont March 4, 1791 [15]
(admitted) (c)The Vermont Republic 15   Kentucky June 1, 1792 [16]
(admitted) The Commonwealth of Virginia (which includes nine counties in its District of Kentucky[d]). 16   Tennessee June 1, 1796 [18]
(admitted) Lands to the West of the Mississippi 17   Ohio March 1, 1803 [19][e]
(admitted) Canada's Northwest Territories 18   Louisiana April 30, 1812 [21]
(admitted) Orleans Territory 19   Indiana On this date in 1816:
(admitted) Its Location: The Indiana Territory1 20   Mississippi Instance created: 10 December, 1817 [22]
(admitted) The Mississippi Valley 21   Illinois December 3rd, 1818 [23]
(admitted) Section of Illinois Territory 22   Alabama Tuesday, December 14, 1819 [24]
(admitted) Located in Alabama 23   Maine March 15, 1820 [25]
(admitted) District of Maine (Massachusetts) 24   Missouri The tenth of August, 1821 [26]
(admitted) Region of Missouri 25   Arkansas June 15, 1836 [27]
(admitted) The Arkansas Valley 26   Michigan January 26th, 1837 [28]
(admitted) The State of Michigan 27   Florida March 3, 1845
(admitted) The State of Florida 28   Texas Saturday, December 29th, 1845 [29]
(admitted) The State of Texas, Republika 29   Iowa Last Updated: 28 December, 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) A portion of the Mexican Cession that is disorganized[g] 32   Minnesota May 11, 1858 [32]
(admitted) Section of Minnesota Territory 33   Oregon On this day in 1859, February 14th, the world changed.
(admitted) State of Oregon and Adjacent Areas 34   Kansas On this day in 1861: [33]
(admitted) A Portion of Kansas 35   Western Virginia June 20, 1863 [34]
(admitted) Fifty counties in Virginia's Trans-Allegheny area. 36   Nevada Tuesday, October 31st, 1864
(admitted) It's in Nevada! 37   Nebraska March 1, 1867
(admitted) The State of Nebraska 38   Colorado Time Period: 1876-08-01 [37]
(admitted) Specifically: The State of Colorado 39   The State of North Dakota1 As of today's date, November 2nd, 1889 [38][i]
(admitted) A Portion of Dakota Territory 40   This is South Dakota1. On this day in 1889, November 2 [38][i]
(admitted) State of Dakota (in part) 41   Montana This day in 1889, November 8 [41]
(admitted) Western United States region encompassing Montana. 42   Washington Adopted: 11 November 1889 [42]
(admitted) Washington State 43   Idaho July 3, 1890
(admitted) Location: Idaho, in the Territory 44   Wyoming July 10, 1890
(admitted) Wyoming, the State 45   Utah Thursday, January 4, 1896 [43]
(admitted) The State of Utah 46   Oklahoma Monday, November 16th, 1907 [44]
(admitted) Lands in Oklahoma and Indian Country 47   New Mexico The sixth of January, 1912
(admitted) The State of New Mexico 48   Arizona A Date: February 14, 1912
(admitted) Territorial Status: Arizona 49   Alaska On this day in 1959, the calendar turned to:
(admitted) In Alaska's case, this means the territory itself. 50   Hawaii On this date in 1959:
(admitted) State or Province of Hawaii

Ratification of the Articles of Confederation [ edit ]

On November 15, 1777, the Second Continental Congress passed the Articles of Confederation to the individual states for ratification. After being ratified by all 13 states, the Articles of Confederation took effect on March 1, 1781. The current federal government, established under the Constitution, succeeded the general government under the Articles on March 4, 1789. [45]

State Date 1 Virginia It was on December 16th, 1777, that 2 Carolina del Sur Instance created: February 5th, 1778 3 New York On this day in 1778, February 6 4 In the state of Rhode Island On this day in 1778, February 9: 5 Connecticut 12 February 1778 6 Georgia In other words, on this date in 1778, February 26th, 7 This New Hampshire March 4, 1778 8 Pennsylvania March 5, 1778 9 Massachusetts March 10, 1778 10 Purpose: The State of North Carolina April 5, 1778 11 New Jersey November 19th, 1778 12 Delaware The First of February, 1779 13 Maryland The date was 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.
• In the years leading up to Kansas's admission to the Union as a state, from 1854 to 1861, the territory was the site of a series of violent conflicts between pro- and anti-slavery groups 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 granted the people of the Indian Territory and the State of Oklahoma 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. calling for a vote on whether or not the two areas should be united as a single state
• The Alaska Statehood Act, which officially made Alaska a state on January 3, 1959.

Notes [ edit ]

References [ edit ]

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

• American State Videos History com
• A list of "Statehood Dates" 50states com