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 separation of powers between the federal government and the individual states, all U.S. citizens are considered citizens of both the federal republic and the state in which they currently reside. [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 make up the main 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. Local matters, such as intrastate commerce, elections, the formation of local governments, public school policy, and non-federal road construction and maintenance, are generally under the purview of 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 the Senate and the House of Representatives, and it includes representatives from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. 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. The Electoral College is the body that votes for President and Vice President of the United States. [3] Each state has the right to send a number of electors to the Electoral College equal to the sum 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. There are now fifty states, up from the original thirteen that existed when the United States was founded in 1776. All newly admitted states have been given full voting rights. [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 below for a separate table detailing the ratification dates of the AoC.) These states are listed in the order in which they ratified the Constitution in 1787 and thus became part of the fledgling (and now established) United States of America. Each subsequent state's admission date is a statutory deadline established by Congress. [a]

List of U S states [ edit ]

State Date
(accepted or approved) Consisting of 1   Delaware When: 7 December 1787 [8]
(ratified) Delaware [b] Colony. 2   Pennsylvania On this date in 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 January 9th, 1788 [12]
(ratified) Connecticut, the Royal Colony 6   Massachusetts 6 February 1788 [8]
(ratified) Massachusetts Bay Colony, a Crown Colony 7   Maryland April 28, 1788 [8]
(ratified) The Maryland Colony was a private colony. 8   Carolina del Sur May 23, 1788 [8]
(ratified) South Carolina, a Crown Colony 9   Primarily Used in: New Hampshire1 June 21, 1788 [8]
(ratified) New Hampshire, a British Crown Colony 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   Here in good ol' NC On this day in 1789 [14]
(ratified) Colonial North Carolina, a 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) The Republic of Vermont 15   Kentucky June 1, 1792 [16]
(admitted) Nine counties in Virginia's District in Kentucky(d) 16   Tennessee June 1, 1796 [18]
(admitted) Territory to the Southwest 17   Ohio March 1, 1803 [19][e]
(admitted) Canada's Northwest Territories 18   Louisiana April 30, 1812 [21]
(admitted) The Province of Orleans 19   Indiana Dated: 12-11-1816
(admitted) The State of Indiana 20   Mississippi Dated: 12-10-1817 [22]
(admitted) State of Mississippi 21   Illinois December 3rd, 1818 [23]
(admitted) A Section of Illinois 22   Alabama Dated: 12/14/1819 [24]
(admitted) State of Alabama 23   Maine March 15, 1820 [25]
(admitted) Commonwealth of Massachusetts (Maine(f) District). 24   Missouri A.D. 10th, 1821 [26]
(admitted) A Portion of Missouri Territory 25   Arkansas June 15, 1836 [27]
(admitted) State of Arkansas 26   Michigan Wednesday, January 26th, 1837 [28]
(admitted) The State of Michigan 27   Florida March 3, 1845
(admitted) The State of Florida 28   Texas Wednesday, December 29, 1845 [29]
(admitted) Texas Republic 29   Iowa Monday, December 28th, 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) Partially Organized Lands / Mexican Cession [g] 32   Minnesota May 11, 1858 [32]
(admitted) A Section of Minnesota 33   Oregon Instance Date: February 14, 1859
(admitted) A Section of Oregon Territory 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 Monday, October 31st, 1864
(admitted) Nevada, the State 37   Nebraska March 1, 1867
(admitted) The State of Nebraska 38   Colorado Beginning on August 1st, 1876 [37]
(admitted) The Colorado Region 39   It's in North Dakota1. The date was November 2, 1889. [38][i]
(admitted) Part of the Dakota Territory 40   Dakota (State) Sunday, November 2, 1889 [38][i]
(admitted) A Portion of Dakota Territory 41   Montana It all started on November 8th, 1889. [41]
(admitted) The State of Montana 42   Washington It all started on November 11th, 1889. [42]
(admitted) State of Washington 43   Idaho July 3, 1890
(admitted) The Idaho Panhandle 44   Wyoming July 10, 1890
(admitted) Wyoming, the State 45   Utah Initially published: January 4, 1896 [43]
(admitted) UT - Utah Valley 46   Oklahoma Sunday, November 16th, 1907 [44]
(admitted) The Indian and Oklahoma Territories 47   New Mexico January 6th, 1912
(admitted) Location: New Mexico, USA 48   Arizona As of today (14 February 1912)
(admitted) The State of Arizona 49   Alaska On this date in 1959:
(admitted) Alaskan territory 50   Hawaii On this date in 1959:
(admitted) Hawaii's Home Islands

Timeline of the Ratification of the Articles of Confederation [ edit ]

On November 15, 1777, the Articles of Confederation were approved by the Second Continental Congress and sent 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 were abolished and replaced by the present Constitutional government on March 4, 1789. [45]

State Date 1 Virginia On this day in 1777 2 To the South Sunday, February 5th, 1778 3 New York Tuesday, February 6th, 1778 4 The State of Rhode Island Wednesday, February 9th, 1778 5 Connecticut Initially published: 12 February 1778 6 Georgia On this day in 1778, February 26th, 7 State of New Hampshire March 4, 1778 8 Pennsylvania March 5, 1778 9 Massachusetts March 10, 1778 10 Here in good ol' NC 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 ]

• As part of the legislative package known as the "Compromise of 1850," California's incorporation into the Union was guaranteed.
• 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.
• 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 Oklahoma Enabling Act granted 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 united as one state.
• The Alaska Statehood Act, which officially made January 3, 1959, the date Alaska joined the Union, was passed.

Notes [ edit ]

References [ edit ]

Related Sites [ edit ]

• "Videos of the 50 States" History com
• "Independence Day" 50states com