The order in which the states joined the 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. Due to the division of powers between the federal government and the individual states, Americans 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."

All of the United States can be broken down into its constituent parts, but states are the most basic level. They have all the authority that is not specifically given to or forbidden to the federal government by the United States 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. Generally speaking, republican principles form the basis for each individual state's constitution and government, which is made up of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. [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 last 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]

The Constitution specifies that Congress has the power to Union" target="_blank">admit new states into the Union in Article IV, Section 3, Clause 1. The original thirteen states of the United States have since been joined by another 33, bringing the total to fifty. New states have been admitted on an equal footing with the rest. [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 officially became independent nations in their own right and, between 1777 and 1781, ratified the Articles of Confederation, the first constitution of the United States. (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. For each succeeding state, the on-list admission date represents the legally binding date established by legislation. [a]

List of U S states [ edit ]

State Date
formally recognized or approved Formed by 1   Delaware When: 7 December 1787 [8]
(ratified) Delaware [b] Colony. 2   Pennsylvania Friday, December 12th, 1787 [10]
(ratified) Pennsylvania, a Crown Colony 3   New Jersey On this day in 1787: [11]
(ratified) New Jersey, a former British colony that became a state in the United States 4   Georgia Starting on January 2nd, 1788 [8]
(ratified) Georgia, a British Crown Colony 5   Connecticut Time Period: January 9th, 1788 [12]
(ratified) Connecticut, a former British colony 6   Massachusetts On this day in 1788, February 6th, [8]
(ratified) Massachusetts Bay Colony, a Crown Colony 7   Maryland April 28, 1788 [8]
(ratified) Colonized Maryland Province 8   Carolina del Sur May 23, 1788 [8]
(ratified) Colonial 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, Dominion of the Crown 11   New York July 26, 1788 [13]
(ratified) New York, a Royal Colony 12   Asheville, North Carolina1 Friday, November 21st, 1789 [14]
(ratified) North Carolina, a former British colony 13   Providence, Rhode Island1 May 29, 1790 [8]
(ratified) State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, British Colony 14   Vermont March 4, 1791 [15]
(admitted) The [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) Territory to the Southwest 17   Ohio March 1, 1803 [19][e]
(admitted) Part of the Northwest Territories 18   Louisiana April 30, 1812 [21]
(admitted) Orleans Territory 19   Indiana This day in 1816, on December 11
(admitted) Region of Indiana 20   Mississippi On this day in 1817, December 10: [22]
(admitted) The Mississippi Delta Region 21   Illinois The Third of December, 1818 [23]
(admitted) Part of Illinois Territory 22   Alabama Today in History (December 14th, 819) [24]
(admitted) This is Alabama Country. 23   Maine March 15, 1820 [25]
(admitted) Maine(f] District) Massachusetts 24   Missouri Tenth of August, 1821 [26]
(admitted) Partial Missouri Territory 25   Arkansas June 15, 1836 [27]
(admitted) The Arkansas Valley 26   Michigan Saturday, January 26th, 1837 [28]
(admitted) Province of Michigan 27   Florida March 3, 1845
(admitted) In the Florida Panhandle 28   Texas The 29th of December, 1845 [29]
(admitted) Texas Confederate States 29   Iowa On this day in 1846:
(admitted) State of Iowa, Part 30   Wisconsin May 29, 1848 [30]
(admitted) A Section of Wisconsin 31   California The Nineteenth Day of September, 1850 [31]
(admitted) Lack of Government in the Lands Adjoining Mexico (Part)[g] 32   Minnesota May 11, 1858 [32]
(admitted) Part of Minnesota 33   Oregon The 14th of February, 1859
(admitted) Part of Oregon Territory 34   Kansas Dated: January 29th, 1861 [33]
(admitted) A Portion of Kansas 35   Situated in western Virginia June 20, 1863 [34]
(admitted) Fifty counties in Virginia's Trans-Allegheny area. 36   Nevada This day in 1864, on October 31st,
(admitted) States of Nevada 37   Nebraska March 1, 1867
(admitted) Its Name for the State of Nebraska 38   Colorado The First of August, 1876 [37]
(admitted) Specifically: The State of Colorado 39   Location: North Dakota1 This day in 1889, November [38][i]
(admitted) Partial Dakota Territory 40   Western Dakota Day of the Dead, November 2, 1889 [38][i]
(admitted) A Portion of Dakota Territory 41   Montana November 8th, 1889 [41]
(admitted) Area encompassing the state of Montana 42   Washington 11 November 1889 [42]
(admitted) State of 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) Location: Utah 46   Oklahoma The Date Was Tuesday, November 16, 1907 [44]
(admitted) Oklahoma and Indian Land 47   New Mexico Starting on January 6th, 1912
(admitted) There's a lot of new territory in New Mexico. 48   Arizona Today in History (February 14th, 912)
(admitted) Arizona State 49   Alaska On this date in 1959:
(admitted) Alaskan territory 50   Hawaii When: 21 August 1959
(admitted) State or Province of Hawaii

The ratification of the Articles of Confederation [ 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 federal government under the Constitution was established. [45]

State Date 1 Virginia A Date in History: December 16th, 1777 2 Carolina del Sur Friday, February 5th, 1778 3 New York Tuesday, February 6th, 1778 4 State of Rhode Island The Nineteenth of February, 1778 5 Connecticut 12 February 1778 6 Georgia February 26th, 1778 7 Specifically, the state of New Hampshire. March 4, 1778 8 Pennsylvania March 5, 1778 9 Massachusetts March 10, 1778 10 Specifically, the state of North Carolina. April 5, 1778 11 New Jersey November 19th, 1778 12 Delaware On this day in 1779, February 1st, 13 Maryland Wednesday, February 2nd, 1781

See also [ edit ]

• The admission of California to the Union was a provision of the Compromise of 1850, a set of congressional acts.
• During the years 1854–1861, when Kansas was still considered part of the territory of Kansas, anti-slavery and pro-slavery groups engaged in a series of violent conflicts in the territory.
• 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 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 the New Mexico and Arizona Territories the same right. 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 ]

Internet resources [ edit ]

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