Statehood admission dates are listed in order for the 50 United States.

Each of the 50 states in the United States is a sovereign nation in its own right and shares power with the federal government. As a result of the division of powers between the federal government and the individual states, all U.S. citizens hold dual citizenship. To distinguish themselves from other states, the official names of Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia all include the word "commonwealth" rather than "state."

The 50 states are the most basic administrative 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. Constitutions based on republican ideals and governing bodies that include separate branches of government for executive, legislative, and judicial functions are found in each of the fifty states. [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. In addition, the number of electors a state can choose to represent it in the Electoral College, the body responsible for choosing the President and Vice President of the United States, is equal to the sum of the number 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 50 states, up from the original 13. All new states have been given full voting rights, just like all the others. [5]

Here's a handy table with all 50 states and the days they 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. (An additional table with dates of AoC ratification is provided below.) 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 ]

State Date
assented to or confirmed Produced by 1   Delaware Monday, December 7th, 1787 [8]
(ratified) Delaware [b] Colony. 2   Pennsylvania Dated: 12 December 1787 [10]
(ratified) Pennsylvania, a Proprietary Province 3   New Jersey On this day in 1787: [11]
(ratified) Royal New Jersey Colony 4   Georgia On this day in 1788 [8]
(ratified) Queen Anne's Georgian Colony 5   Connecticut 9 January 1788 [12]
(ratified) Connecticut, a former British colony 6   Massachusetts Tuesday, February 6th, 1788 [8]
(ratified) The Massachusetts Bay Colony, a British Possession 7   Maryland April 28, 1788 [8]
(ratified) Colonized Maryland Province 8   Citing South Carolina1 May 23, 1788 [8]
(ratified) King George III's Original Colony 9   State of New Hampshire1 June 21, 1788 [8]
(ratified) New Hampshire, a Colony under the Crown 10   Virginia June 25, 1788 [8]
(ratified) Dominion of the Crown Colony of Virginia 11   New York July 26, 1788 [13]
(ratified) New York, a Colony of the British Crown 12   Carolina del Norte On this day in 1789 [14]
(ratified) North Carolina, a former Crown Colony 13   The Ocean State: Rhode Island1 May 29, 1790 [8]
(ratified) British colonies in North America located in Rhode Island and Providence 14   Vermont March 4, 1791 [15]
(admitted) This is a free and independent Vermont republic. 15   Kentucky June 1, 1792 [16]
(admitted) Nine counties in Virginia's District in Kentucky(d). 16   Tennessee June 1, 1796 [18]
(admitted) Southwestern Acreage 17   Ohio March 1, 1803 [19][e]
(admitted) Canada's Northwest Territories 18   Louisiana April 30, 1812 [21]
(admitted) Orleans Territory 19   Indiana Monday, December 11th, 1816
(admitted) The Indiana Territory1 20   Mississippi During the early hours of the morning of December 10th, 18 [22]
(admitted) The Mississippi Valley 21   Illinois December 3rd, 1818 [23]
(admitted) Regional Illinois 22   Alabama Monday, December 14, 1819 [24]
(admitted) Located in Alabama 23   Maine March 15, 1820 [25]
(admitted) District of Maine (Massachusetts) 24   Missouri Observed on August 10th, 1821 [26]
(admitted) Extent of Missouri Territory 25   Arkansas June 15, 1836 [27]
(admitted) The Arkansas Valley 26   Michigan This day in 1837, on January 26th, [28]
(admitted) The State of Michigan 27   Florida March 3, 1845
(admitted) The Florida Peninsula 28   Texas On this date in 1845: [29]
(admitted) The State of Texas as a Separate Republic 29   Iowa Thursday, December 28th, 1846
(admitted) A Portion of Iowa Territory 30   Wisconsin May 29, 1848 [30]
(admitted) Separate Section of Wisconsin 31   California Date: September 9, 1850 [31]
(admitted) Partially Organized Lands / Cession to Mexico 32   Minnesota May 11, 1858 [32]
(admitted) Separate Section of Minnesota 33   Oregon 14 February 1859
(admitted) A Section of Oregon Territory 34   Kansas The Day That Began the Year 1861, January 29 [33]
(admitted) The State of Kansas, or Part of It 35   Appalachia's West Virginia1 June 20, 1863 [34]
(admitted) There are fifty counties in Virginia that are included in the Trans-Allegheny statistical area. 36   Nevada Date: October 31, 1864
(admitted) The State of Nevada 37   Nebraska March 1, 1867
(admitted) The State of Nebraska 38   Colorado Starting on August 1st, 1876 [37]
(admitted) The Colorado Region 39   In the state of North Dakota1 Wednesday, November 2nd, 1889 [38][i]
(admitted) Area Including the State of Dakota 40   Dakota (State) On this day in 1889, November 2 [38][i]
(admitted) Region of Dakota 41   Montana November 8th, 1889 [41]
(admitted) Places in Montana 42   Washington 11 November 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: January 4 [43]
(admitted) Geographical Utah 46   Oklahoma When: Tuesday, November 16, 1907 [44]
(admitted) This is Indian Territory and Oklahoma Territory. 47   New Mexico January 6th, 1912
(admitted) The State of New Mexico 48   Arizona The date February 14th, 1912
(admitted) The State of Arizona 49   Alaska On this date in 1959:
(admitted) Alaskan territory. 50   Hawaii Sunday, August 21st, 1959
(admitted) State or Province of Hawaii

A timeline of the ratification of the Articles of Confederation [ edit ]

On this day in 1777, the Second Continental Congress recommended to the states that they ratify the Articles of Confederation. After being ratified by all 13 states, the Articles of Confederation took effect on March 1, 1781. The current federal government, established by the Constitution, succeeded the general government under the Articles on March 4, 1789. [45]

State Date 1 Virginia Friday, December 16th, 1777 2 Carolina del Sur 05 Février 1778 3 New York On this day in 1778, February 6 4 In the state of Rhode Island It was February 9th, 1778. 5 Connecticut 12 February 1778 6 Georgia 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 Wednesday, November 19th, 1778 12 Delaware On this day in 1779, February 1st, 13 Maryland Two-Fourths of February, 1781

See also [ edit ]

• Cali's incorporation into the Union was a part of the legislative package known as the "Compromise of 1850."
• 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.
• This was made possible by the Enabling Act of 1889, which gave the people of the Dakota, Montana, and Washington territories the legal right to organize themselves into states (with Dakota being split into two separate states) and apply for admission to 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. to hold a vote on whether or not the two areas should be merged into a single state
• The Alaska Statehood Act officially made Alaska a state on January 3, 1959.

Notes [ edit ]

References [ edit ]

Internet resources [ edit ]

• Videos of the 50 United States History com
• Terms for the Establishment of States 50states com