Ordered list of when each state joined the United States

One of the fifty entities that make up the United States and share sovereignty with the federal government is a state. Due to the division of powers between the federal government and the individual states, Americans hold dual citizenship. [1]In their official state names, the Commonwealth of Kentucky, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and Commonwealth of Virginia use the term commonwealth rather than state.

The 50 states are the main political 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. 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. 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 Electoral College, the body that chooses the President and Vice President of the United States, grants each state a number of electors equal to the sum of its congressional deputies and senators. [4]

As stated in Article IV, Section 3, Clause 1 of the Constitution, Congress has the power to Union" target="_blank">admit new states into the Union. There are now fifty states, up from the original thirteen that existed when the United States was founded in 1776. A new state is admitted to the union on the same terms as the existing ones. [5]

See below for a chronological listing of when each of the 50 states became independent. After signing on to the Declaration of Independence in July 1776, the first 13 states formally became independent nations in their own right and, between 1777 and 1781, ratified the Articles of Confederation to form the first United States of America. (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 legally binding deadline established by Congress. [a]

List of U S states [ edit ]

State Date
acceptance or approval Created by 1   Delaware Saturday, December 7th, 1787 [8]
(ratified) (b) the colony known as Delaware. 2   Pennsylvania During the 12th of December, 1787 [10]
(ratified) Colonial Pennsylvania 3   New Jersey Dated: December 18th, 1787 [11]
(ratified) New Jersey, a former British colony. 4   Georgia It all began on January 2nd, 1788. [8]
(ratified) Former British Crown Colony in the South 5   Connecticut January 9th, 1788 [12]
(ratified) Connecticut, the Royal Colony 6   Massachusetts Saturday, February 6th, 1788 [8]
(ratified) Massachusetts Bay, a British Crown Colony 7   Maryland April 28, 1788 [8]
(ratified) Maryland, a colonial-era colony 8   Colony State of South Carolina1 May 23, 1788 [8]
(ratified) Carolina was a crown colony at the time. 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) Province of New York under the Crown 12   Cary, North Carolina1 On this day in 1789 [14]
(ratified) North Carolina, a former Crown 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) There is a republic in Vermont. 15   Kentucky June 1, 1792 [16]
(admitted) 9 counties in Virginia's District in Kentucky(d) 16   Tennessee June 1, 1796 [18]
(admitted) The Southwestern Region 17   Ohio March 1, 1803 [19][e]
(admitted) A section of the Northwest Territories 18   Louisiana April 30, 1812 [21]
(admitted) Orleans Territory 19   Indiana On this date in 1816:
(admitted) Area containing Indiana 20   Mississippi The date was December 10, 1817. [22]
(admitted) In the Mississippi Territory1 21   Illinois The date was December 3, 1818. [23]
(admitted) Part of Illinois Territory 22   Alabama Thursday, December 14, 1819 [24]
(admitted) Region of Alabama 23   Maine March 15, 1820 [25]
(admitted) The Bay State (Maine(f) District) 24   Missouri Sunday, August 10th, 1821 [26]
(admitted) A Portion of Missouri Territory 25   Arkansas June 15, 1836 [27]
(admitted) Land of Arkansas 26   Michigan Dated: January 26th, 1837 [28]
(admitted) The State of Michigan 27   Florida March 3, 1845
(admitted) The State of Florida 28   Texas On this day in 1845, December 29th, [29]
(admitted) Democratic Socialists of America 29   Iowa On this day in 1846:
(admitted) A Portion of Iowa Territory 30   Wisconsin May 29, 1848 [30]
(admitted) Partial Wisconsin Territory 31   California Saturday, September 9, 1850 [31]
(admitted) The Mexican Cession (Part): An Unorganized Region 32   Minnesota May 11, 1858 [32]
(admitted) The State of Minnesota, or a Portion of It 33   Oregon Day of the Week: 14 FEBRUARY 1859
(admitted) State of Oregon and Adjacent Areas 34   Kansas On this day in 1861: [33]
(admitted) A Portion of Kansas 35   "West Virginia1" June 20, 1863 [34]
(admitted) Virginia (all fifty counties in the Trans-Allegheny area[h]). 36   Nevada On this day in 1864, October 31st,
(admitted) The State of Nevada 37   Nebraska March 1, 1867
(admitted) Frontier State of Nebraska 38   Colorado The First of August, 1876 [37]
(admitted) Specifically: The State of Colorado 39   We're in North Dakota1. The date was November 2nd, 1889. [38][i]
(admitted) Section of Dakota Territory 40   "South Dakota1" On this day in 1889, November 2 [38][i]
(admitted) A Portion of the Dakotas 41   Montana November 8th, 1889 [41]
(admitted) State of Montana 42   Washington Wednesday, November 11th, 1889 [42]
(admitted) Territorial Government of Washington 43   Idaho July 3, 1890
(admitted) Locale of Idaho 44   Wyoming July 10, 1890
(admitted) The State of Wyoming 45   Utah Dated: January 4th, 1896 [43]
(admitted) Locale of Utah 46   Oklahoma Tuesday, November 16th, 1907 [44]
(admitted) Bordering Oklahoma is Indian Territory. 47   New Mexico On this day in 1912, January 6
(admitted) Places in New Mexico that Are Not in Texas 48   Arizona Thursday, February 14th, 1912
(admitted) Territorial Status: Arizona 49   Alaska Starting on January 3rd, 1959
(admitted) Alaskan territory 50   Hawaii The Day That Started It All in 1959: August 21
(admitted) The Hawaiian Islands as a Territorial Unit

Times of Articles of Confederation ratification [ edit ]

In order for the Articles of Confederation to be ratified by the separate states, the Second Continental Congress approved them on November 15, 1777. After the 13 states ratified the Articles of Confederation on March 1, 1781, they became law. 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 Carolina del Sur The date of February 5, 1778 3 New York Friday, February 6th, 1778 4 The Ocean State: Rhode Island Nineteen Seventy-Eighth Day, February 5 Connecticut 12 February 1778 6 Georgia Friday, 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 Carolina del Norte April 5, 1778 11 New Jersey November 19th, 1778 12 Delaware Initial usage: 2/1/1779 13 Maryland The date was February 2, 1781.

See also [ edit ]

• The admission of California to the Union was a part of the Compromise of 1850, a collection of acts passed by Congress.
• 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."
• A law passed in 1889 called the Enabling Act gave citizens 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.
• 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 on whether or not the two areas should be combined into one state.
• It was on January 3, 1959, that Alaska was officially admitted to the Union as a state thanks to the Alaska Statehood Act.

Notes [ edit ]

References [ edit ]

Web Resources [ edit ]

• "Videos of the 50 States" History com
• Dates of state formation 50states com