Ordered list of when each state joined the United States

A state is one of the 50 individual entities that make up the United States and have equal sovereignty 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."

U.S. administrative divisions are typically called "states." 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 the construction and maintenance of roads not funded by the federal government are generally left to the discretion of the respective state governments. Republican principles form the basis for each state's constitution and government, which is made up 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. 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 Constitution specifically gives Congress the power to add new states in Article IV, Section 3, Clause 1. United States expansion from 13 to 50 states since 1776. All new states have been granted full membership with no special treatment. [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 officially became independent nations in their own right and, between 1777 and 1781, ratified the Articles of Confederation, the first constitution of the United States. (The dates of AoC ratification are listed in a separate table below.) These states are listed in the order in which they joined the new (and current) federal government upon ratification of the Constitution in 1787. After that, each subsequent state's admission date is a legally binding statute. [a]

List of U S states [ edit ]

State Date
(accepted or approved) Constituted of 1   Delaware Seventh of December, 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 Monday, December 18th, 1787 [11]
(ratified) New Jersey, a former British colony. 4   Georgia On this day in 1788 [8]
(ratified) Georgia, a British Crown Colony 5   Connecticut Monday, January 9th, 1788 [12]
(ratified) State of Connecticut, Royal Colony 6   Massachusetts Sixteen years ago today, on February 6th, 1788 [8]
(ratified) Massachusetts Bay Colony, a Crown Colony 7   Maryland April 28, 1788 [8]
(ratified) Maryland, a colonial possession 8   "South Carolina1" May 23, 1788 [8]
(ratified) Originally, South Carolina was a British colony. 9   Primarily Used in: 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 Royal Colony 12   Specifically, the state of North Carolina1. Tuesday, November 21st, 1789 [14]
(ratified) North Carolina, a former British colony 13   The Ocean State: Rhode Island1 May 29, 1790 [8]
(ratified) Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Royal Colony 14   Vermont March 4, 1791 [15]
(admitted) The Republic of Vermont 15   Kentucky June 1, 1792 [16]
(admitted) (Kentucky[d] is included in Virginia's District, which includes nine counties.) 16   Tennessee June 1, 1796 [18]
(admitted) States Constituting the South-Western Region 17   Ohio March 1, 1803 [19][e]
(admitted) Province of the Northwest 18   Louisiana April 30, 1812 [21]
(admitted) Places Located in the Province of Orleans 19   Indiana On this date in 1816:
(admitted) Location: Indiana Territory1 20   Mississippi Time Period: 1817-12-10 [22]
(admitted) The Mississippi Delta Region 21   Illinois It's the 3rd of December, 1818 [23]
(admitted) A Section of Illinois 22   Alabama This day in 1819, on December 14 [24]
(admitted) Region of Alabama 23   Maine March 15, 1820 [25]
(admitted) District of Maine (Massachusetts) 24   Missouri On this day in 1821, August 10 [26]
(admitted) A Portion of Missouri Territory 25   Arkansas June 15, 1836 [27]
(admitted) Regional Term for Arkansas 26   Michigan Sunday, January 26th, 1837 [28]
(admitted) In the State of Michigan 27   Florida March 3, 1845
(admitted) The Florida Peninsula and Adjacent Lands 28   Texas This day in 1845, on December 29th, [29]
(admitted) The State of Texas, Republika 29   Iowa When: Sunday, December 28, 1846
(admitted) A Portion of Iowa Territory 30   Wisconsin May 29, 1848 [30]
(admitted) A Section of Wisconsin 31   California Nine September, 1850 [31]
(admitted) Disordered Lands / The Mexican Cession, Part (g) 32   Minnesota May 11, 1858 [32]
(admitted) A Section of Minnesota 33   Oregon Day of the Week: 14 FEBRUARY 1859
(admitted) A Section of Oregon Territory 34   Kansas On this day in 1861: January 29 [33]
(admitted) A Portion of Kansas 35   A state located in western Virginia. June 20, 1863 [34]
(admitted) 50 counties in the state of Virginia that are located in the Trans-Allegheny region. 36   Nevada Sunday, October 31st, 1864
(admitted) The State of Nevada 37   Nebraska March 1, 1867
(admitted) The State of Nebraska 38   Colorado The First of August, 1876 [37]
(admitted) The State of Colorado 39   The Great Plains State of North Dakota1 Earlier today, on November 2nd, 1889, [38][i]
(admitted) Section of Dakota Territory 40   The Badlands of South Dakota1 On this day in 1889, November 2 [38][i]
(admitted) A Portion of Dakota Territory 41   Montana November 8th, 1889 [41]
(admitted) Located in the state of Montana. 42   Washington Adopted: 11 November 1889 [42]
(admitted) State of Washington 43   Idaho July 3, 1890
(admitted) The State of Idaho 44   Wyoming July 10, 1890
(admitted) Places in Wyoming 45   Utah On this day in 1896: January 4 [43]
(admitted) Territorial Claims in Utah 46   Oklahoma Monday, November 16th, 1907 [44]
(admitted) The Indian and Oklahoma Territories 47   New Mexico Sixteen hundred and twelve: January 6th, 1912
(admitted) It's the State of New Mexico 48   Arizona Sunday, February 14th, 1912
(admitted) The State of Arizona 49   Alaska Day of the Year: January 3, 1959
(admitted) Alaskan territory 50   Hawaii When: 21 August 1959
(admitted) State or Province of Hawaii

Ratification of the Articles of Confederation [ edit ]

On November 15, 1777, the Articles of Confederation were approved for ratification by the states by the Second Continental Congress. 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 On this day in 1777 2 An Acronym for the State of South Carolina Instance created: February 5th, 1778 3 New York On this day in 1778, February 6 4 Providence, Rhode Island Earlier today, on February 9th, 1778, 5 Connecticut On this date in 1778, February 12: 6 Georgia Thursday, February 26th, 1778 7 For the state of New Hampshire, see: March 4, 1778 8 Pennsylvania March 5, 1778 9 Massachusetts March 10, 1778 10 A Place Called North Carolina April 5, 1778 11 New Jersey November 19th, 1778 12 Delaware Monday, February 1st, 1779 13 Maryland Two-Fourths of February, 1781

See also [ edit ]

• Part of the "Compromise of 1850," a collection of legislative acts that included a clause admitting California to the Union,
• During the years 1854–1861, when Kansas was still considered part of the territory of Kansas, a series of violent conflicts broke out between anti-slavery and pro-slavery groups, earning the region the nickname "Bleeding Kansas."
• Statehood Act of 1889; allows citizens of Dakota (to be split into two states), Montana, and Washington territories to organize state governments and apply for admission to the Union.
• The New Mexico and Arizona Admission Acts and the Oklahoma Enabling Act respectively granted permission for the people of New Mexico and the Indian Territory to organize a state government and to seek admission to the Union as a new state. calling for a vote on whether or not the two areas should be combined into one state.
• The Alaska Statehood Act, which officially made Alaska a state on January 3, 1959.

Notes [ edit ]

References [ edit ]

Internet resources [ edit ]

• "Videos of the 50 States" History com
• Constitutional ratification and statehood formation dates 50states com