Ordered list of when each state joined the United States


Among the fifty nations that make up the United States, a state is one of the entities that holds some degree of independence but not complete autonomy. 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 in the USA. They have all the authority that isn't specifically given to or forbidden to the federal government. Local matters, such as intrastate commerce, elections, the formation of local governments, public school policy, and the construction and maintenance of non-federal roads, are generally under the purview of the respective state's government. 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 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. As of today, there are 50 states, up from the original 13. No state has been given preferential treatment over another, and all new states have been granted full membership. [5]
All 50 states and their respective dates of statehood are listed below. After signing on to the 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] 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 ]
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Ratification of the Articles of Confederation [ edit ]
On November 15, 1777, the Articles of Confederation were approved by the Second Continental Congress and submitted 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, which governed the states, were abolished on March 4, 1789, and the present Constitution, which governs the federal government, was adopted. [45]












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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.
- The Enabling Act of 1889 gave the people of the Dakota, Montana, and Washington Territories the legal right to organize state governments (with Dakota being split into two states) and apply for admission to the Union.
- With the passage of the Oklahoma Enabling Act, residents of the Indian Territory and the Oklahoma Territory were granted permission to unite under a single state government and were admitted to the Union as a single state. calling for a vote to decide whether or not the two areas should be united as one state.
- The Alaska Statehood Act officially made Alaska a state on January 3, 1959.
Notes [ edit ]
- ^ This does not take into account the 11 states that broke away from the Union to form the Confederate States of America (Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas) during the Civil War or their subsequent readmission after the war ended. or the "readmission to representation in Congress" of each state after the war, since the federal government does not recognize the states' formal withdrawal from the Union. While the Constitution itself remains silent on the subject of whether or not states have the authority to secede from the Union, the Supreme Court's decision in Texas v. White (1869) makes it clear that a state does not have the authority to do so on its own. [7]
- ^ The "Three Lower Counties Upon Delaware" are another name for this area. 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 and Kent" as the state's governing body. Upon the Delaware River, Kent and Sussex [9]
- ^ Benning Wentworth, New Hampshire's provincial governor from 1749 to 1764, issued about 135 grants for unoccupied land claimed by New Hampshire west of the Connecticut River (in what is now southern Vermont), territory also claimed by New York. As a result of the "New Hampshire Grants" conflict, the Green Mountain Boys emerged, and eventually Vermont became its own independent nation. George III issued an edict in 1764 canceling New Hampshire's claim to the territory, and in 1790, New York sold Vermont its claim to the land for $30,000.
- ^ On December 18, 1789, the Virginia General Assembly passed a bill to approve the separation of the "District of Kentucky" from the rest of Virginia and to recognize the new state of Kentucky. [17]
- ^ A definitive date for Ohio's statehood has never been established. The 7th Congress passed an act on April 30, 1802 "authorizing the inhabitants of Ohio to form a Constitution and state government, and admission of Ohio into the Union" (Sess). 1, ch 40, 2 Stat. 173) The same Congress also passed an act on February 19, 1803, "providing for the execution of the laws of the United States in the State of Ohio" (Sess. 2, ch 7, 2 Stat. 201) However, neither statute established an official statehood date. 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. When: Sunday, August 7, 1953 ) that settled on March 1st, 1803 as the day in question [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. passage of a follow-up measure recognizing Maine's impending statehood [17]
- ^ Mexican Department of Alta California encompassed the vast majority of the territory that was ceded to the United States by Mexico in 1848 after the Bear Flag Revolt and the Mexican-American War. As part of the Compromise of 1850, Congress passed an act making California the 31st state.
- ^ West Virginia was formally 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 and South Dakota are the only twin-born states in the United States; they were both created within minutes of each other on the same day. Before officially making any of the territories states, President Benjamin Harrison shuffled the statehood papers so that no one would ever know which state became a state first. Since "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 ]
- ^ To cite: Erler, Edward Constitutional Law Research Papers: Amendment XIV (Citizenship) That Group Called the Heritage Foundation
- ^ Minnesota State Legislature: Frequently Asked Questions Statutory Assembly of Minnesota
- ^ Kristin D Burnett Apportionment to Congress (Census 2010: A Briefing Book) (PDF) U S Economics and Statistics Administration, Department of Commerce
- ^ Professor Einer R. Elhauge Discussions of "Article II: Presidential Electors" For the Heritage Foundation
- ^ The "Doctrine of the Equality of States"1 Justia com
- ^ Merrill Jensen published his seminal work in 1959. An Analysis of the Social and Constitutional History of the American Revolution under the Articles of Confederation, 1774–1781 Press, University of Wisconsin pp xi, 184 ISBN 978-0-299-00204-6
- ^ To cite this case: "Texas v. White, 74 U.S. 700 (1868)" Justia com
- A. B. C. D. E. F. G. H. John R. Vile (2005) Volume 1: Letters A through M of The Constitutional Convention of 1787: An All-Inclusive Reference to the Birth of the American Constitution ABC-CLIO p 658 ISBN 1-85109-669-8
- ^ Governing Bodies of Delaware Delaware gov Data Repository, Division of State Administration, State of Delaware
- ^ Brief History of Pennsylvania from 1776 to 1861 (From Independence to the Civil War) PA gov Authority for Museums and Historical Sites in Pennsylvania
- ^ Minutes of the Convention of 1787 NJ gov The State Department of New Jersey
- ^ Historically Speaking, January 9 loc gov The Congress Library
- ^ "On This Day in History... July 26" loc gov Congress' Library
- ^ November 21st, a day in history loc gov The Congress Library
- ^ State Number Fourteen Discovery of Vermont's Past Organization dedicated to preserving Vermont's past This version was archived on May 30, 2013.
- ^ "State Historical Park at Constitution Square" americanheritage com Publishers of the American Heritage Series Retrieved April 23, 2019
- ^ a b "The Origins, Evolution, and Current Status of Their Official Names and Statuses" TheGreenPapers com
- ^ "A Chronology of State Events" TN gov Tennesee's Ministry of State Originally posted on April 10, 2016
- ^ Frederick J. Blue A Look Back at 2002 (Fall) Date Ohio Became a State The Bulletin of the Ohio Academy of History Republished from the September 11, 2010 archive
- ^ Settling the Controversy over Ohio's Statehood
- ^ Summary of Louisiana's Characteristics louisiana gov Website archived on March 24, 2013 Retrieved June 15, 2016
- ^ It reads, "Welcome from the Mississippi Bicentennial Celebration Commission." Bicentennial Celebration Commission of Mississippi Retrieved 16 February 2017
- ^ Historically Speaking, It's December 3rd loc gov The Congress Library
- ^ Timeline of Alabama's Past, 1800-1850 alabama gov Retrieved June 15, 2016
- ^ The 15th of March in History loc gov US Congress Library
- ^ "On This Date in History: August 10" loc gov National Library of Congress
- ^ The 15th of June in History loc gov The Congress Library
- ^ The 26th of January in History loc gov The Congress Library
- ^ The addition of Texas to the United States. Historically Speaking: Today We Are Going To Talk About Media conglomerate A&E March 4, 2010 Retrieved April 23, 2019
- ^ This day in history is May 29. loc gov Congressional Library
- ^ On September 9, 1850, California officially became a state. CA gov Parks and Recreation Division of the State of California
- ^ Today in History (May 11) loc gov US Congress Library
- ^ The 29th of January in History loc gov Congressional Library
- ^ The 20th of June: A Day in History loc gov The Congress Library
- ^ Reorganized Virginia's government approved West Virginia's separation in Chapter Twelve of "A State of Convenience: The Creation of West Virginia." Wvculture org Culture and History Section of West Virginia
- ^ State of Virginia v. State of West Virginia, 78 U.S. 39 (1870) Justia com
- ^ Historically speaking, August 1st is referred to as "Today in History." loc gov Institution of Congress's Library
- ^ a b The 2nd of November—Today in History loc gov US Congress Library
- ^ MacPherson, James, and Kevin Burbach. "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
- ^ Author: Wishart, David J (ed ) "Montana" The Great Plains: An Encyclopedia Located in Lincoln, Nebraska, the University of Nebraska Retrieved Dated: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15 2017
- ^ Dated "Today in History: November 11"1 loc gov National Library of Congress
- ^ After Linda Thatcher (2016) There is a chronological progression of events known as the "Fight for Statehood." historytogo utah gov Utah, U.S.A.
- ^ As seen on "Today in History, November 16" loc gov Museum of American History Library of Congress
- ^ Paul Rodgers (2011) An Exposition of the Constitutional Law of the United States McFarland p 109 ISBN 978-0-7864-6017-5
References outside of the text [ edit ]
- YouTube playlist titled "States of the USA" History com
- dates of statehood 50states com

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