The order in which the states joined the United States.

Each of the fifty United States' constituent entities, known collectively as "states," shares sovereignty with the federal government. Due to the division of powers between the federal government and the individual states, Americans hold dual citizenship. [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 hold all authority not specifically granted to or prohibited by the United States federal government in the Constitution. Generally speaking, matters of local concern are under the purview of state governments, which include the likes of regulating intrastate commerce, conducting elections, forming local governments, establishing public school policy, and constructing and maintaining non-federal roads. A republican form of government, with separate executive, legislative, and judicial branches, exists in each of the 50 states, all of which are governed by their own constitutions. [2]

The United States Congress is a bicameral legislature, made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives, that includes representatives from all 50 states and their citizens. 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 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 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 now fifty states, up from the original thirteen that existed when the United States was founded in 1776. When a new state joins, it joins on equal footing with the others. [5]

The table below details the dates of statehood for each of the fifty US states. When they signed on to the United States Declaration of Independence in July 1776, the original 13 states officially became sovereign nations; between 1777 and 1781, they ratified the Articles of Confederation to form the first United States of America constitution. (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 based on a statutory mandate from the federal government. [a]

List of U S states [ edit ]

State Date
acceptable; approved; recognized Developed from 1   Delaware Dated: December 7th, 1787 [8]
(ratified) Delaware [b] Colony. 2   Pennsylvania This day in 1787, on December 12 [10]
(ratified) Pennsylvania, a Crown Colony 3   New Jersey The 18th of December, 1787 [11]
(ratified) New Jersey, a former British colony. 4   Georgia As of today, January 2nd, 1788 [8]
(ratified) Georgia, a British Crown Colony 5   Connecticut This day in 1788, January 9 [12]
(ratified) Connecticut, a former British colony 6   Massachusetts 6 February 1788 [8]
(ratified) Massachusetts Bay Colony, a Royal Province 7   Maryland April 28, 1788 [8]
(ratified) Maryland, a colonial possession 8   State of South Carolina1 May 23, 1788 [8]
(ratified) Colony of the Crown of South Carolina 9   It's in the Granite State, New Hampshire1 June 21, 1788 [8]
(ratified) The New Hampshire Colony was a Crown Colony. 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   A Place Called North Carolina1 On this day in 1789 [14]
(ratified) North Carolina, a former British 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) Southwest Area 17   Ohio March 1, 1803 [19][e]
(admitted) Region of the Northwest Territories 18   Louisiana April 30, 1812 [21]
(admitted) Orleans Territory 19   Indiana This day in 1816, on December 11
(admitted) Hoosier State 20   Mississippi Tuesday, December 10, 1817 [22]
(admitted) The Mississippi Valley 21   Illinois It's the 3rd of December, 1818 [23]
(admitted) Specifically, the area of Illinois that is now known as the territory of 22   Alabama As of today, December 14th, 1819 [24]
(admitted) Locational Clues: The State of Alabama 23   Maine March 15, 1820 [25]
(admitted) District of Maine (Massachusetts) 24   Missouri Tenth of August, 1821 [26]
(admitted) Extent of Missouri Territory 25   Arkansas June 15, 1836 [27]
(admitted) The Arkansas Valley 26   Michigan January 26th, 1837 [28]
(admitted) The State of Michigan, or the Upper Peninsula 27   Florida March 3, 1845
(admitted) Affirmative: Florida's Home State 28   Texas This day in 1845, on December 29th, [29]
(admitted) Independence, Texas 29   Iowa Dated: December 28th, 1846
(admitted) Piece of Iowa Territory 30   Wisconsin May 29, 1848 [30]
(admitted) An Area of Wisconsin 31   California Publish Date: September 9, 1850 [31]
(admitted) Ungoverned regions / Mexican Cession (part)[g]. 32   Minnesota May 11, 1858 [32]
(admitted) A Section of Minnesota 33   Oregon 14 February 1859
(admitted) A Section of Oregon Territory 34   Kansas On this day in 1861: [33]
(admitted) Specifically, a section of Kansas. 35   "West Virginia1" June 20, 1863 [34]
(admitted) Fifty counties in Virginia's Trans-Allegheny area. 36   Nevada On this day in 1864, October 31st,
(admitted) The State of Nevada 37   Nebraska March 1, 1867
(admitted) Its Name for the State of Nebraska 38   Colorado Time Period: 1876-08-01 [37]
(admitted) Region of Colorado 39   Dakota Dunes State Wednesday, November 2nd, 1889 [38][i]
(admitted) Section of Dakota Territory 40   A State in the Midwestern U.S. The date was November 2nd, 1889. [38][i]
(admitted) A Section of Dakota Territory 41   Montana Saturday, November 8th, 1889 [41]
(admitted) State of Montana 42   Washington The Eleventh Day of November, 1889 [42]
(admitted) State of Washington 43   Idaho July 3, 1890
(admitted) The Idaho Panhandle 44   Wyoming July 10, 1890
(admitted) The State of Wyoming 45   Utah On this day in 1896: January 4 [43]
(admitted) Places in Utah 46   Oklahoma Wednesday, November 16th, 1907 [44]
(admitted) State of Oklahoma and Native American Lands 47   New Mexico Day One, 1912: January 6
(admitted) A portion of the state of New Mexico 48   Arizona 14 February 1912
(admitted) The State of Arizona 49   Alaska Day of the Year: January 3, 1959
(admitted) Alaskan territory 50   Hawaii When: 21 August 1959
(admitted) Hawaii's Home Islands

Dates of Articles of Confederation Ratification [ edit ]

On November 15, 1777, the Articles of Confederation were approved by the Second Continental Congress and submitted 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 present Constitutional Government was ratified. [45]

State Date 1 Virginia On this day in 1777 2 Carolina del Sur On this day in 1778 - February 5 3 New York Friday, February 6th, 1778 4 The Ocean State: Rhode Island 9 February 1778 5 Connecticut February 12th, 1778 6 Georgia As of today (26 February) in 1778 7 To the State of 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 Saturday, November 19th, 1778 12 Delaware On this day in 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 set of legislative acts passed by Congress.
• 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.
• Enabling Act of 1889, allowing citizens of the 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 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 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 ]

Internet resources [ edit ]

• YouTube playlist titled "States of the USA" History com
• "Independence Day" 50states com