Ordered list of when each state joined the United States
State names and borders on a United States map After the initial 13 states ratified the Constitution in 1787, additional states were admitted to the Union in the order of their ratification. The 50 individual states that make up the United States of America are co-sovereign
The 50 individual states that make up the United States of America are co-sovereign entities with the central government. Due to the division of powers between the federal government and the individual states, Americans hold dual citizenship. To distinguish themselves from other states, the official names of Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia all include the word "commonwealth" rather than "state."
Individual 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. Generally speaking, matters of local concern are under the purview of the respective state government. This includes, but is not limited to, the conduct of intrastate commerce, the management of elections, the formation of local governments, the direction of public schools, and the building and maintenance of roads that are not funded by Each state has a government that includes an executive, legislative, and judicial branch, and a constitution based on republican principles. [2]
The United States Congress is a bicameral legislature made up of senators and representatives from all 50 states. In the Senate, every state has two seats, and in the House of Representatives, every state has a minimum of one representative and as many as its population warrants, as determined by the most recent decennial census required by the Constitution. Furthermore, the Electoral College, the body that elects the President and Vice President of the United States, allows each state to choose a number of electors to vote in the election proportional to the number of its representatives and senators in Congress. [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. The original 13 states of the United States have been joined by 47 others since 1776. All new states are fully integrated into the union. [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, the country's first constitution. (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. Each subsequent state's admission date is a statutory deadline established by Congress. [a]
List of U S states [ edit ]
(accepted or confirmed)
Delaware (ratified)
Pennsylvania (ratified)
New Jersey (ratified)
.svg/23px-Flag_of_Georgia_(U.S._state).svg.png)
Georgia (ratified)
Connecticut (ratified)
Massachusetts (ratified)
Maryland (ratified)
State of South Carolina1 (ratified)
In the state of New Hampshire1 (ratified)
Virginia (ratified)
New York (ratified)
Carolina del Norte (ratified)
Providence, Rhode Island1 (ratified)
Vermont (admitted)
Kentucky (admitted)
Tennessee (admitted)
Ohio (admitted)
Louisiana (admitted)
Indiana (admitted)
Mississippi (admitted)
Illinois (admitted)
Alabama (admitted)
Maine (admitted)
Missouri (admitted)
Arkansas (admitted)
Michigan (admitted)
Florida (admitted)
Texas (admitted)
Iowa (admitted)
Wisconsin (admitted)
California (admitted)
Minnesota (admitted)
Oregon (admitted)
Kansas (admitted)
Western Virginia (admitted)
Nevada (admitted)
Nebraska (admitted)
Colorado (admitted)
The state of North Dakota1 (admitted)
Dakota (State) (admitted)
Montana (admitted)
Washington (admitted)
Idaho (admitted)
Wyoming (admitted)
Utah (admitted)
Oklahoma (admitted)
New Mexico (admitted)
Arizona (admitted)
Alaska (admitted)
Hawaii (admitted)
Times of Articles of Confederation ratification [ edit ]
On November 15, 1777, the Articles of Confederation were approved by the Second Continental Congress for submission to state legislatures 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]
Virginia 
New York 
Rhode Island 
Connecticut 
Georgia 
New Hampshire 
Pennsylvania 
Massachusetts 
New Jersey 
Delaware .svg/30px-Seal_of_Maryland_(reverse).svg.png)
Maryland See also [ edit ]
- One of the bills included in the "Compromise of 1850" set of legislation passed by Congress to allow for California's entry into the Union.
- When Kansas Territory was still a territory, between 1854 and 1861, a series of violent conflicts broke out between anti-slavery and pro-slavery groups, coming to be known as "Bleeding Kansas."
- Enabling Act of 1889, allowing citizens of the Dakota (to be split into two states), Montana, and Washington territories to organize state governments 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. calling for a vote to decide whether or not the two areas should be united as one state.
- On January 3, 1959, Alaska officially became the 49th state in the Union thanks to the Alaska Statehood Act.
Notes [ edit ]
- ^ Eleven states (Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas) seceded from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America during the Civil War, but they are not included on this list because they were later readmitted to the Union. Similarly, the federal government does not recognize the states' separation from the Union, so each state's "readmission to representation in Congress" after the war is valid. Even though the Constitution is silent on the subject, the Supreme Court ruled in Texas v. White (1869) that a state cannot secede from the Union without the consent of the other states. [7]
- ^ A different name for the three counties below Delaware's state capital. On June 15, 1776, the Delaware Assembly passed a resolution ending the colony's relationship with Great Britain and establishing "the Government of the Counties of New Castle" over the new state. Kentish and Sussex County, Delaware" [9]
- ^ Approximately 135 grants for unoccupied land claimed by New Hampshire west of the Connecticut River (in what is today southern Vermont) were issued by New Hampshire provincial governor Benning Wentworth between 1749 and 1764. This territory was also claimed by New York. Dispute over the "New Hampshire Grants" sparked the rise of the Green Mountain Boys, who would go on to found the Vermont Republic. By royal order of George III in 1764, New Hampshire's claim to the land was terminated, and in 1790, the State of New York sold Vermont its land claim for $30,000.
- ^ On December 18, 1789, the Virginia General Assembly passed a bill approving the separation of the "District of Kentucky" from the rest of Virginia and granting that territory statehood. [17]
- ^ It is not known when exactly Ohio was admitted to the Union as a state. To "authorize the inhabitants of Ohio to form a Constitution and state government, and admission of Ohio into the Union," the 7th Congress voted on April 30, 1802 (Sess. 1, ch 40, 2 Stat. 173) An act "providing for the execution of the laws of the United States in the State of Ohio" (Sess) was passed by the same Congress on February 19, 1803. 2, ch 7, 2 Stat. 201) However, neither law established an official date of statehood. The 83rd Congress passed a Joint resolution "for admitting the State of Ohio into the Union" (Pub. L. 83-204, 67 Stat. 407, enacted 1953) to officially establish Ohio's statehood date. Wednesday, August 7th, 1953 ) which fixed the date as March 1, 1803 [20]
- ^ On June 19, 1819, the Massachusetts General Court passed enabling legislation separating the "District of Maine" from the rest of the State (an action approved by Maine voters on July 19, 1819, by 17,001 to 7,132); then, on February 25, 1820, the Massachusetts Legislature officially recognized the "District of Maine" as a separate entity. adopted a follow-up measure recognizing Maine's impending statehood. [17]
- ^ For the most part, the territory that Mexico gave up to the United States in 1848 after the Bear Flag Revolt and the Mexican-American War had previously been part of the Mexican Department of Alta California. An element of the Compromise of 1850 was the passage of the Act of Congress that admitted California as the 31st state.
- ^ West Virginia was officially established by an act of the General Assembly of the Restored Government of Virginia on May 13, 1862. The Supreme Court's decision in Virginia v. West Virginia (1871) later implied that the secessionist counties in Virginia had the requisite consents for statehood. [36]
- ^ a b North Dakota and South Dakota are the only states to have been born on the same day, and within minutes of each other. To ensure that no one would know which state became the first, President Benjamin Harrison shuffled the papers a few times before signing them. Being that "n" comes before "s" in the alphabet, North Dakota is traditionally counted as the 39th state, while South Dakota is counted as the 40th. [39][40]
References [ edit ]
- ^ Edward Erler A Collection of Essays on Constitutional Amendment XIV, Concerning Citizenship To wit: The Heritage Foundation
- ^ The Minnesota State Legislature's Frequently Asked Questions The Minnesota State Legislature1
- ^ Kristin D Burnett The 2010 Census Briefs C2010BR-08: Congressional Apportionment (PDF) U S Commerce Department, Economic and Statistics Administration
- ^ R. Einer Elhauge Article II Electors and Presidential Elections: Essays Initiated by the Heritage Foundation
- ^ It's called the "Doctrine of the Equality of States"1 Justia com
- ^ M. Merrill Jensen (1959) An Analysis of the Social and Constitutional History of the American Revolution under the Articles of Confederation, 1774–1781 Publishing House of the University of Wisconsin pp xi, 184 ISBN 978-0-299-00204-6
- ^ 74 U.S. 700 (1868) "Texas v. White" Justia com
- A. B. C. D. E. F. G. H. John R. Vile (2005) Complete Reference to the Constitutional Convention of 1787 (Book One, Letters A through M) ABC-CLIO p 658 ISBN 1-85109-669-8
- ^ "State of Delaware" Delaware gov The State of Delaware's Official Government Resource Center
- ^ Brief History of Pennsylvania from 1776 to 1861 (From Independence to the Civil War) PA gov The Historical and Museum Commission of Pennsylvania
- ^ Procedural Records of the Convention of 1787 NJ gov Department of State of New Jersey
- ^ The 9th of January in History loc gov American Memory: Congress Library
- ^ As seen on "Today in History, July 26" loc gov United States Congress Library
- ^ It's November 21st, so here's a look back in time loc gov The Congress Library
- ^ State Number Fourteen The Vermont Historian Institution of Vermont History In the original form on May 30, 2013
- ^ The "Constitution Square State Historic Site"1 americanheritage com Publishers of the American Heritage Series Retrieved April 23, 2019
- ^ a b Titled "Official Name and Status History of the Various States and U.S. Territories," this volume details the evolution of the official appellations used for the 50 states and TheGreenPapers com
- ^ State Historical Timeline TN gov Government of Tennessee, Department of State Date of original upload: April 10, 2016
- ^ Author: Blue, Frederick J As of this writing (Fall of 2002) Date Ohio Became a State The Bulletin of the Ohio Academy of History Website originally posted on September 11, 2010
- ^ An Explanation of Ohio's Statehood
- ^ Summary of Louisiana's Characteristics louisiana gov Date of original publication: March 24, 2013 Retrieved June 15, 2016
- ^ A Greeting from the Mississippi Bicentennial Celebration Board Commission for the 200th Anniversary of Mississippi's Statehood Retrieved 16 February 2017
- ^ Timeline of events for December 3rd. loc gov United States Congress Library
- ^ Article: "Alabama Historical Timeline, 1800–1860" alabama gov Retrieved June 15, 2016
- ^ Historically Speaking, March 15 loc gov National Library of Congress
- ^ The tenth of August; today in history loc gov The Congress Library
- ^ This day in history is June 15th. loc gov The Congress Library
- ^ The 26th of January in History loc gov The United States Congress Library
- ^ We welcome Texas to the Union! Presenting: On This Day in History Cable Channels Operated By A&E Television Networks March 4, 2010 Retrieved April 23, 2019
- ^ The 29th of May: A Day in History loc gov American Memory: Congress Library
- ^ September 9, 1850: The Official Admission of California into the Union CA gov DP&R of the State of California
- ^ Historically Speaking, It Was May 11 On This Day loc gov American Memory: Congress Library
- ^ The date January 29th was marked as an important day in history. loc gov The Congress Library
- ^ Historically Speaking, June 20 loc gov Congress's Library
- ^ West Virginia was created as a "State of Convenience" in Chapter 12 of the book "A History of the State of Virginia." Wvculture org The Department of Culture and History of West Virginia
- ^ 78 U.S. 39 (1870) "Virginia v. West Virginia" Justia com
- ^ The 1st of August: A Day in History loc gov The United States Congress Library
- ^ a b The 2nd of November—Today in History loc gov American Memory: Congress Library
- ^ The authors of the study are James MacPherson and Kevin Burbach, and their paper was published on November 2nd, 2014. "At 125 years of statehood, rivalry still exists in the Dakotas." Bismarck, North Dakota: AP Retrieved June 29, 2020
- ^ Mark Stein (2008) Smithsonian Books/Harper Collins, "How the States Got Their Shapes," p 256
- ^ David J. Wishart (ed ) "Montana" Continental Drift: A Geographic and Cultural History of the Great Plains It's the University of Nebraska at Lincoln Retrieved 15 Février 2017
- ^ The 11th of November Recalls an Important Date in Our Past loc gov The Congress Library
- ^ Author: Thatcher, Linda - 2016 Timeline of the Fight for Statehood historytogo utah gov The state of Utah
- ^ As seen on "Today in History, November 16" loc gov Federal Research Library
- ^ Paul Rodgers (2011) Overview of U.S. Constitutional Law McFarland p 109 ISBN 978-0-7864-6017-5
Websites outside the scope of this paper [ edit ]
- "Videos of the 50 States" History com
- Terms for the Establishment of States 50states com
19 The Southermost U.S. State: The Definitive Guide What Are the Farthest Points in the United States? (Humanities Geography) Alaska and Siberia, 1903: A Shareable, Emailable, and Printable Map Geography Basics Physical Geography Political Geography Population Key Figures & Milestones
State names and borders on a United States map It follows the sequence established by the ratification of the Constitution by the original 13 states in 1787 and the subsequent admission of new states to the Union. One of the fifty entities that make up the United States and share
State names and borders on a United States map After the initial 13 states ratified the Constitution in 1787, additional states were admitted to the Union in the order of their ratification. One of the fifty entities that make up the United States and share sovereignty with the
↓ Click Here To See The Incredible Video We Found In terms of total land area, the United States ranks third in the world, after Russia and Canada. The United States has an enormous amount of land. S includes a large geographical range of climates When comparing the states of the United S
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