This is a timeline of the states' admission to the United States.

A state is one of the 50 individual entities that together make up the United States and share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of the separation of powers that exists between the federal government and the individual states, all U.S. citizens have 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 United States is divided primarily into individual states. 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. Republican principles form the basis for each state's constitution and government, which is made up of an executive, legislative, and judicial branch. [2]

Congress, the federal legislature, is bicameral, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives, and all states and their citizens have a voice there. At least one senator and one representative are elected from each state, with the number of representatives each state has in the House of Representatives determined by that state's population as of the last decennial census required by the Constitution. The Electoral College is the body that officially 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 Constitution specifies that Congress has the power to Union" target="_blank">admit new states into the Union in Article IV, Section 3, Clause 1. There are now 50 states, up from the original 13. All new states are fully integrated into the union. [5]

In the table below, you'll find information about when each of the 50 states became independent. After signing on to the United States Declaration of Independence in July 1776, the original 13 states entered the Union of States in the years between 1777 and 1781 and ratified the Articles of Confederation. (See below for a separate table detailing the ratification dates of the AoC.) The order in which these states are listed reflects the order in which they ratified the Constitution in 1787 and thus became part of the newly formed (and still existing) United States of America. Every subsequent admission date is a statutory deadline established by Congress. [a]

List of U S states [ edit ]

State Date
(accepted or approved) Formed by 1   Delaware Tuesday, December 7th, 1787 [8]
(ratified) Delaware [b] Colony. 2   Pennsylvania The 12th of December, 1787 [10]
(ratified) Pennsylvania, a Crown Colony 3   New Jersey Sunday, December 18th, 1787 [11]
(ratified) New Jersey, a former British colony. 4   Georgia On this day in 1788 [8]
(ratified) The Georgian Colony was a Crown Colony. 5   Connecticut This day in 1788, January 9 [12]
(ratified) Royal Connecticut Colony 6   Massachusetts 6 February 1788 [8]
(ratified) Massachusetts Bay, a Royal Colony 7   Maryland April 28, 1788 [8]
(ratified) State of Maryland as a Private Colony 8   Carolina del Sur May 23, 1788 [8]
(ratified) King George III's Original 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 Crown Colony and Currently Reigning Monarchy 11   New York July 26, 1788 [13]
(ratified) New York, a Royal Colony 12   Carolina del Norte Dated: November 21st, 1789 [14]
(ratified) North Carolina, a former British colony 13   Here in Rhode Island1 May 29, 1790 [8]
(ratified) Colony under British Rule; Rhode Island and Providence Plantations 14   Vermont March 4, 1791 [15]
(admitted) The Republic of Vermont 15   Kentucky June 1, 1792 [16]
(admitted) The Commonwealth of Virginia (which includes nine counties in its District of Kentucky[d]). 16   Tennessee June 1, 1796 [18]
(admitted) The Southwestern Region 17   Ohio March 1, 1803 [19][e]
(admitted) North West Territories, Segment 18   Louisiana April 30, 1812 [21]
(admitted) Louisiana (Orleans) 19   Indiana Dated: 12-11-1816
(admitted) The State of Indiana 20   Mississippi It's the 10th of December, 1817 [22]
(admitted) The Mississippi Delta Region 21   Illinois December 3rd, 1818 [23]
(admitted) Regional Illinois 22   Alabama Monday, December 14, 1819 [24]
(admitted) In the State of Alabama 23   Maine March 15, 1820 [25]
(admitted) Maine(f] District) Massachusetts 24   Missouri Tenth of August, 1821 [26]
(admitted) An Area of Missouri 25   Arkansas June 15, 1836 [27]
(admitted) In the Arkansas Territory1 26   Michigan January 26th, 1837 [28]
(admitted) The State of Michigan 27   Florida March 3, 1845
(admitted) State of Florida 28   Texas Last Updated: 29 December 1845 [29]
(admitted) United States of America, Texas, Republic 29   Iowa Tuesday, December 28th, 1846
(admitted) Regional Iowa 30   Wisconsin May 29, 1848 [30]
(admitted) Section of Wisconsin 31   California Nine September, 1850 [31]
(admitted) Disordered Lands / The Mexican Cession, Part (g) 32   Minnesota May 11, 1858 [32]
(admitted) A Section of Minnesota 33   Oregon Day of the Week: 14 FEBRUARY 1859
(admitted) An Area of Oregon Territory 34   Kansas On this day in 1861: [33]
(admitted) A Portion of Kansas 35   That State in the Mountaineer State June 20, 1863 [34]
(admitted) Fifty counties in Virginia's Trans-Allegheny area. 36   Nevada Observed on October 31st, 1864
(admitted) A Land Named Nevada 37   Nebraska March 1, 1867
(admitted) The State of Nebraska 38   Colorado As of today, August 1, 1876 [37]
(admitted) The Colorado Region 39   Geographical Location: North Dakota1 This day in 1889, November [38][i]
(admitted) Regional portion of Dakotas 40   Dakota (State) Dated: November 2nd, 1889 [38][i]
(admitted) Section of Dakota Territory 41   Montana On this day in 1889, November 8 [41]
(admitted) The State of Montana 42   Washington As of today (11 November 1889) [42]
(admitted) Location: The State of Washington 43   Idaho July 3, 1890
(admitted) Boise, Idaho 44   Wyoming July 10, 1890
(admitted) The State of Wyoming 45   Utah The date of January 4, 1896 [43]
(admitted) In the State of Utah 46   Oklahoma Friday, November 16th, 1907 [44]
(admitted) Locations in Indian Territory and Oklahoma 47   New Mexico 6 January 1912
(admitted) The State of New Mexico 48   Arizona Today in History (February 14th, 912)
(admitted) This is Arizona State Land 49   Alaska On this day in 1959, the calendar turned to:
(admitted) State of Alaska 50   Hawaii On this date in 1959:
(admitted) Hawaii's home territory

Dates of Articles of Confederation ratification [ edit ]

On November 15, 1777, the Articles of Confederation were approved by the Second Continental Congress for submission to state legislatures for ratification. When the Articles of Confederation were finally ratified by all 13 states on March 1, 1781, the new government was officially established. The current federal government, established under the Constitution, succeeded the general government under the Articles on March 4, 1789. [45]

State Date 1 Virginia The date was December 16th, 1777. 2 Carolina del Sur Tuesday, February 5th, 1778 3 New York On this day in 1778, February 6 4 The Ocean State: Rhode Island Wednesday, February 9th, 1778 5 Connecticut The 12th of February, 1778 6 Georgia This day in 1778, on February 26th, 7 Element: 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 This day in 1778, November 19 12 Delaware The First of February, 1779 13 Maryland Two-Fourths of February, 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.
• A series of bloody conflicts between anti-slavery and pro-slavery groups occurred in Kansas Territory between 1854 and 1861, a period 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.
• Enabling Act for the State of Oklahoma; allowing citizens of the Indian Territory to organize a state government and seek admission to the Union as a single state; allowing citizens of the New Mexico and Arizona Territories to organize a state government and seek admission to the Union as individual states. calling for a vote on whether or not the two areas should be combined into one state.
• As of January 3, 1959, Alaska officially became a member of the United States as a result of the passage of the Alaska Statehood Act.

Notes [ edit ]

References [ edit ]

Internet resources [ edit ]

• "Videos of the Individual U.S. States" History com
• Terms for the Establishment of States 50states com