Ordered list of when each state joined the United States

Each of the fifty United States' constituent entities, known collectively as "states," shares sovereignty with the federal government. Citizenship in the United States is dual, with the federal government and the state in which one resides each having some degree of authority over its citizens. [1]The full official names of the states of Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia all include the word "commonwealth" rather than "state."

The United States is organized primarily into separate entities called "states." 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. Each state has its own government that consists of an executive, legislative, and judicial branch, and its own constitution based on republican principles. [2]

The United States Congress is a bicameral legislature, made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives, from which citizens of all 50 states and the District of Columbia can elect their own representatives. There are two senators for every state and at least one representative, with the size of a 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, allows each state to send a number of representatives and senators to Washington equal to the sum of its representatives and senators. [4]

Constitutional law states that Article IV, Section 3, Clause 1 gives Congress the power to Union" target="_blank">admit new states to the Union. From its original thirteen in 1776 to its current fifty, the United States has undergone tremendous growth since its inception. All new states have been granted full membership with no special treatment. [5]

Each of the 50 states' official statehood dates is listed below. After signing on to the Declaration of Independence in July 1776, the original 13 states entered the Union of States in the years between 1777 and 1781. At that time, they also ratified the Articles of Confederation, the country's first constitution. (A separate table with dates of AoC ratification is provided below.) In the order in which they joined the new (and current) federal government after ratifying the Constitution in 1787, these states are listed below. All subsequent admission dates reflect the statutory deadlines established by Congress. [a]

List of U S states [ edit ]

State Date
(acknowledged or confirmed) Originating from 1   Delaware Saturday, December 7th, 1787 [8]
(ratified) State of Delaware as a Colony[b] 2   Pennsylvania Dated: 12 December 1787 [10]
(ratified) The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, a Crown Colony 3   New Jersey Thursday, December 18th, 1787 [11]
(ratified) New Jersey, a former British colony. 4   Georgia Tuesday, January 2, 1788 [8]
(ratified) A British Colony in the State of Georgia 5   Connecticut Dated: January 9th, 1788 [12]
(ratified) Connecticut, a Colony of the British Crown 6   Massachusetts This day in 1788, on February 6th, you could say: [8]
(ratified) Massachusetts Bay Colony, a Crown Colony 7   Maryland April 28, 1788 [8]
(ratified) Maryland, a colonial possession 8   A State in the Southeastern United States May 23, 1788 [8]
(ratified) South Carolina, a Crown Colony 9   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) New York, the Queen's Most Favored Colony 12   Carolina del Norte On this day in 1789 [14]
(ratified) The North Carolina Colony was a Crown Colony. 13   In the state of Rhode Island1 May 29, 1790 [8]
(ratified) Province of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations 14   Vermont March 4, 1791 [15]
(admitted) [c]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) Southwest Area 17   Ohio March 1, 1803 [19][e]
(admitted) Part of the Northwest Territories 18   Louisiana April 30, 1812 [21]
(admitted) The Region of Orleans 19   Indiana Friday, December 11th, 1816
(admitted) The State of Indiana 20   Mississippi Wednesday, December 10, 1817 [22]
(admitted) Location of the Mississippi River and Its Surrounding Lands 21   Illinois The Third of December, 1818 [23]
(admitted) Part of Illinois Territory 22   Alabama Dated: 12/14/1819 [24]
(admitted) Lands in Alabama 23   Maine March 15, 1820 [25]
(admitted) The Bay State (Maine(f) District) 24   Missouri Saturday, August 10th, 1821 [26]
(admitted) The Missouri Territory, Part 25   Arkansas June 15, 1836 [27]
(admitted) The Arkansas Valley 26   Michigan January 26th, 1837 [28]
(admitted) The State of Michigan 27   Florida March 3, 1845
(admitted) Land of Florida 28   Texas Wednesday, December 29, 1845 [29]
(admitted) Texas Republic 29   Iowa On this day in 1846:
(admitted) Partial Iowa Territory 30   Wisconsin May 29, 1848 [30]
(admitted) A section of Wisconsin 31   California Monday, September 9, 1850 [31]
(admitted) Partially Organized Lands / Mexican Cession [g] 32   Minnesota May 11, 1858 [32]
(admitted) A Section of Minnesota 33   Oregon 14 February 1859
(admitted) Segment of Oregon Territory 34   Kansas Tuesday, January 29th, 1861 [33]
(admitted) Specifically, a section of Kansas. 35   The Mountain State, or West Virginia1 June 20, 1863 [34]
(admitted) In Virginia (all 50 counties in the Trans-Allegheny area [h]), 36   Nevada A Date Certain: October 31, 1864
(admitted) Land of Nevada 37   Nebraska March 1, 1867
(admitted) Location: Nebraska 38   Colorado When: August 1st, 1876 [37]
(admitted) The Colorado Region 39   The Great Land of North Dakota1 On this day in 1889, November 2 [38][i]
(admitted) Part of Dakota Territory 40   Dakota (State) Sunday, November 2, 1889 [38][i]
(admitted) A Portion of Dakota Territory 41   Montana Saturday, November 8th, 1889 [41]
(admitted) A Place Called Montana 42   Washington On this date in 1889 [42]
(admitted) Territory of Washington 43   Idaho July 3, 1890
(admitted) This is the territory of Idaho. 44   Wyoming July 10, 1890
(admitted) Wyoming, the Territories 45   Utah Monday, January 4th, 1896 [43]
(admitted) Utah, the Territories 46   Oklahoma November 16th, 1907 [44]
(admitted) Oklahoma and Indian Land 47   New Mexico 6 January 1912
(admitted) The State of New Mexico 48   Arizona Thursday, February 14th, 1912
(admitted) The State of Arizona 49   Alaska On this date in 1959:
(admitted) Location of Alaska 50   Hawaii On this date in 1959:
(admitted) State or Province of Hawaii

Ratification of the Articles of Confederation [ 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 became effective 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, December 16 2 Carolina del Sur Friday, February 5th, 1778 3 New York Saturday, February 6th, 1778 4 The Ocean State: Rhode Island Monday, February 9, 1778 5 Connecticut The 12th of February, 1778 6 Georgia Friday, February 26th, 1778 7 This New Hampshire March 4, 1778 8 Pennsylvania March 5, 1778 9 Massachusetts March 10, 1778 10 Carolina del Norte April 5, 1778 11 New Jersey When: Tuesday, November 19, 1778 12 Delaware It all started on February 1st, 1779 13 Maryland Initially published: 2 February, 1781

See also [ edit ]

• One of the acts included in the "Compromise of 1850" legislation package guaranteed that California would be admitted to the Union.
• Between 1854 and 1861, when Kansas was still part of the territory, a series of violent conflicts broke out between pro- and anti-slavery groups that came to be known as "Bleeding Kansas."
• In 1889, Congress passed the Enabling Act, which allowed the people of the Dakota, Montana, and Washington territories to organize themselves politically as states 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. It also granted the people of New Mexico and Arizona the right to do the same. calling for a vote on whether or not the two areas should be united as a single state.
• Alaska became the 49th state on January 3, 1959, thanks to the Alaska Statehood Act.

Notes [ edit ]

References [ edit ]

Internet resources [ edit ]

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