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. As a result of the division of powers between the federal government and the individual states, all U.S. citizens hold dual citizenship. In their official state names, Commonwealth states like Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia distinguish themselves from other states by using the term "commonwealth."

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 typically under the purview of state governments. Republican principles form the basis for each state's constitution and government, which consists of an executive, legislative, and judicial branch. [2]

Each state and its citizens have a voice in the Senate and House of Representatives that make up the federal Congress. Every state has two senators and at least one representative in the House of Representatives, with the size of each state's delegation in the House determined by the population of the state 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 voters to vote there that is equal to the sum of its congressional deputies and senators. [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. There are currently 50 states, up from the original 13. 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 joined the new (and current) federal government upon ratification of the Constitution in 1787. Listed for each subsequent state is the legally mandated date of admission. [a]

List of U S states [ edit ]

State Date
(accepted or approved) Shaped by 1   Delaware The 7th of December, 1787 [8]
(ratified) The State of Delaware as a Colony[b]. 2   Pennsylvania As of today (12 December 1787) [10]
(ratified) Pennsylvania, a Crown Colony 3   New Jersey On this day in 1787: [11]
(ratified) New Jersey, the Formerly-Imperial Crown Colony 4   Georgia On this day in 1788 [8]
(ratified) The Georgia Colony was a Crown Colony. 5   Connecticut On this day in 1788, January 9 [12]
(ratified) Connecticut, a former British colony 6   Massachusetts Earlier this year, on February 6th, 1788 [8]
(ratified) Massachusetts Bay Colony, a Royal Colony 7   Maryland April 28, 1788 [8]
(ratified) Maryland, a colonial possession 8   This is the state of South Carolina1. May 23, 1788 [8]
(ratified) South Carolina, a Crown Colony 9   This New Hampshire1 June 21, 1788 [8]
(ratified) Dominion of New Hampshire 10   Virginia June 25, 1788 [8]
(ratified) Commonwealth of Virginia, Dominion of the Crown 11   New York July 26, 1788 [13]
(ratified) New York, a Colony of the Crown 12   Carolina del Norte Wednesday, November 21st, 1789 [14]
(ratified) North Carolina, a former British colony 13   Providence, Rhode Island1 May 29, 1790 [8]
(ratified) The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, a Royal Colony 14   Vermont March 4, 1791 [15]
(admitted) Democratic Socialist State of Vermont 15   Kentucky June 1, 1792 [16]
(admitted) (Kentucky is represented by nine counties in Virginia) 16   Tennessee June 1, 1796 [18]
(admitted) Locations to the West 17   Ohio March 1, 1803 [19][e]
(admitted) It's a section of the Northwest Territories 18   Louisiana April 30, 1812 [21]
(admitted) Orleans Territory 19   Indiana On this date in 1816:
(admitted) Situated in the state of Indiana 20   Mississippi On this date in 1817, December 10 [22]
(admitted) Mississippi Country 21   Illinois Dated: December 3rd, 1818 [23]
(admitted) Part of Illinois Territory 22   Alabama This day in 1819, on December 14 [24]
(admitted) Locales in Alabama 23   Maine March 15, 1820 [25]
(admitted) District of Maine (Massachusetts) 24   Missouri The tenth of August, 1821 [26]
(admitted) A Portion of Missouri Territory 25   Arkansas June 15, 1836 [27]
(admitted) Arkansas State 26   Michigan Initially published: January 26, 1837 [28]
(admitted) The State of Michigan 27   Florida March 3, 1845
(admitted) An Area Including Florida 28   Texas Friday, December 29th, 1845 [29]
(admitted) TX 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 Nine September, 1850 [31]
(admitted) Partially Organized Lands / Cession to Mexico 32   Minnesota May 11, 1858 [32]
(admitted) Region of Minnesota 33   Oregon Wednesday, February 14, 1859
(admitted) The Oregon Region, Specifically 34   Kansas Saturday, January 29th, 1861 [33]
(admitted) A Portion of Kansas 35   "West Virginia1" June 20, 1863 [34]
(admitted) Forty-five counties in the Greater Pittsburgh Area in Virginia. 36   Nevada Sunday, October 31st, 1864
(admitted) The State of Nevada 37   Nebraska March 1, 1867
(admitted) Expansion of the Nebraska Territory1 38   Colorado Monday, August 1st, 1876 [37]
(admitted) The Colorado Region 39   Geographical Location: North Dakota1 As of today's date, November 2nd, 1889 [38][i]
(admitted) Area Including the State of Dakota 40   Dakota (State) Dated: November 2nd, 1889 [38][i]
(admitted) Regional portion of Dakotas 41   Montana Earlier this week, on November 8th, 1889 [41]
(admitted) The State of Montana 42   Washington Instance created: November 11th, 1889 [42]
(admitted) Place Name: Washington 43   Idaho July 3, 1890
(admitted) The State of Idaho 44   Wyoming July 10, 1890
(admitted) The State of Wyoming 45   Utah On this day in 1896: [43]
(admitted) The State of Utah 46   Oklahoma November 16th, 1907 [44]
(admitted) Territory of Oklahoma and Indian Territory 47   New Mexico Sunday, January 6th, 1912
(admitted) Places in New Mexico that Are Not in Texas 48   Arizona Monday, February 14, 1912
(admitted) The State of Arizona 49   Alaska On this day in 1959, the calendar turned to:
(admitted) Alaskan territory 50   Hawaii Friday, August 21st, 1959
(admitted) Hawaii, a Territorial State

The dates of the ratification of the Articles of Confederation [ edit ]

On this day in 1777, the Second Continental Congress voted to send the Articles of Confederation 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 on March 4, 1789, and the current federal government under the Constitution was established. [45]

State Date 1 Virginia On this day in 1777 2 In the state of South Carolina Wednesday, February 5th, 1778 3 New York On this day in 1778, February 6 4 The Ocean State: Rhode Island 9 February 1778 5 Connecticut 12 February 1778 6 Georgia On this day in 1778, February 26th, 7 It's in the Granite State, New Hampshire 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 Tuesday, November 19th, 1778 12 Delaware On this day in 1779, February 1st, 13 Maryland On this day in 1781, February 2nd,

See also [ edit ]

• The admission of California to the Union was a provision of the Compromise of 1850, a set of legislative acts passed by Congress.
• During the years of 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."
• The Enabling Act of 1889 granted the people of the Dakota, Montana, and Washington territories the right to organize themselves into new states and join the Union.
• The Oklahoma Enabling Act gave the people of Oklahoma and the Indian Territory the legal 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 jurisdictions should be united into one state.
• The Alaska Statehood Act, which officially made Alaska a state on January 3, 1959.

Notes [ edit ]

References [ edit ]

The term "external links" is used to indicate [ edit ]

• The United States of America Video Archive History com
• "Independence Day" 50states com