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A state of the United States is one of the 50 constituent entities that shares its sovereignty with the federal government. Americans are citizens of both the federal republic and of the state in which they reside, due to the shared sovereignty between each state and the federal government.^[1] Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia use the term commonwealth rather than state in their full official names.

States are the primary subdivisions of the United States. They possess all powers not granted to the federal government, nor prohibited to them by the United States Constitution. In general, state governments have the power to regulate issues of local concern, such as: regulating intrastate commerce, running elections, creating local governments, public school policy, and non-federal road construction and maintenance. Each state has its own constitution grounded in republican principles, and government consisting of executive, legislative, and judicial branches.^[2]

All states and their residents are represented in the federal Congress, a bicameral legislature consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Each state is represented by two Senators, and at least one Representative, while the size of a state's House delegation depends on its total population, as determined by the most recent constitutionally-mandated decennial census.^[3] Additionally, each state is entitled to select a number of electors to vote in the Electoral College, the body that elects the President of the United States, equal to the total of Representatives and Senators in Congress from that state.^[4]

Article IV, Section 3, Clause 1 of the Constitution grants to Congress the authority to admit new states into the Union. Since the establishment of the United States in 1776, the number of states has expanded from the original 13 to 50. Each new state has been admitted on an equal footing with the existing states.^[5]

The following table is a list of all 50 states and their respective dates of statehood. The first 13 became states in July 1776 upon agreeing to the United States Declaration of Independence, and each joined the first Union of states between 1777 and 1781, upon ratifying the Articles of Confederation, its first constitution.^[6] (A separate table is included below showing AoC ratification dates.) These states are presented in the order in which each ratified the 1787 Constitution, thus joining the present federal Union of states. The date of admission listed for each subsequent state is the official date set by Act of Congress.^[a]

List of U.S. states

State		Date (ratified or admitted)	Time between states ratification or admission	Formed from
1	Delaware	December 7, 1787^[8] (ratified)	0 days	Colony of Delaware^[b]
2	Pennsylvania	December 12, 1787^[10] (ratified)	5 days	Proprietary Province of Pennsylvania
3	New Jersey	December 18, 1787^[11] (ratified)	6 days	Crown Colony of New Jersey
4	Georgia	January 2, 1788^[8] (ratified)	15 days	Crown Colony of Georgia
5	Connecticut	January 9, 1788^[12] (ratified)	7 days	Crown Colony of Connecticut
6	Massachusetts	February 6, 1788^[8] (ratified)	28 days	Crown Colony of Massachusetts Bay
7	Maryland	April 28, 1788^[8] (ratified)	2 months and 22 days	Proprietary Province of Maryland
8	South Carolina	May 23, 1788^[8] (ratified)	25 days	Crown Colony of South Carolina
9	New Hampshire	June 21, 1788^[8] (ratified)	29 days	Crown Colony of New Hampshire
10	Virginia	June 25, 1788^[8] (ratified)	4 days	Crown Colony and Dominion of Virginia
11	New York	July 26, 1788^[13] (ratified)	1 month and 1 day	Crown Colony of New York
12	North Carolina	November 21, 1789^[14] (ratified)	1 year, 3 months, and 26 days	Crown Colony of North Carolina
13	Rhode Island	May 29, 1790^[8] (ratified)	6 months and 8 days	Crown Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
14	Vermont	March 4, 1791^[15] (admitted)	9 months and 4 days	Vermont Republic^[c]
15	Kentucky	June 1, 1792^[16] (admitted)	1 year, 2 months, and 28 days	Virginia (nine counties in its District of Kentucky^[d])
16	Tennessee	June 1, 1796^[18] (admitted)	4 years	Southwest Territory
17	Ohio	March 1, 1803^[19]^[e] (admitted)	6 years and 9 months	Northwest Territory (part)
18	Louisiana	April 30, 1812^[21] (admitted)	9 years, 1 month, and 29 days	Territory of Orleans
19	Indiana	December 11, 1816 (admitted)	4 years, 7 months, and 11 days	Indiana Territory
20	Mississippi	December 10, 1817^[22] (admitted)	11 months and 29 days	Mississippi Territory
21	Illinois	December 3, 1818^[23] (admitted)	11 months and 23 days	Illinois Territory (part)
22	Alabama	December 14, 1819^[24] (admitted)	1 year and 11 days	Alabama Territory
23	Maine	March 15, 1820^[25] (admitted)	3 months and 1 day	Massachusetts (District of Maine^[f])
24	Missouri	August 10, 1821^[26] (admitted)	1 year, 4 months, and 26 days	Missouri Territory (part)
25	Arkansas	June 15, 1836^[27] (admitted)	14 years, 10 months, and 5 days	Arkansas Territory
26	Michigan	January 26, 1837^[28] (admitted)	7 months and 11 days	Michigan Territory
27	Florida	March 3, 1845 (admitted)	8 years, 1 month, and 5 days	Florida Territory
28	Texas	December 29, 1845 (admitted)	9 months and 26 days	Republic of Texas
29	Iowa	December 28, 1846 (admitted)	11 months and 29 days	Iowa Territory (part)
30	Wisconsin	May 29, 1848^[29] (admitted)	1 year, 5 months, and 1 day	Wisconsin Territory (part)
31	California	September 9, 1850^[30] (admitted)	2 years, 3 months, and 11 days	unorganized territory (part)
32	Minnesota	May 11, 1858^[31] (admitted)	7 years, 8 months, and 2 days	Minnesota Territory (part)
33	Oregon	February 14, 1859 (admitted)	9 months and 3 days	Oregon Territory (part)
34	Kansas	January 29, 1861^[32] (admitted)	1 year, 11 months, and 15 days	Kansas Territory (part)
35	West Virginia	June 20, 1863^[33] (admitted)	2 years, 4 months, and 22 days	Virginia (50 Trans-Allegheny region counties^[g])
36	Nevada	October 31, 1864 (admitted)	1 year, 4 months, and 11 days	Nevada Territory
37	Nebraska	March 1, 1867 (admitted)	2 years, 4 months, and 1 day	Nebraska Territory
38	Colorado	August 1, 1876^[36] (admitted)	9 years and 5 months	Colorado Territory
39^[h]	North Dakota	November 2, 1889^[38]^[i] (admitted)	13 years, 3 months, and 1 day	Dakota Territory (part)
40	South Dakota	November 2, 1889^[38]^[i] (admitted)	0 days	Dakota Territory (part)
41	Montana	November 8, 1889^[39] (admitted)	6 days	Montana Territory
42	Washington	November 11, 1889^[40] (admitted)	3 days	Washington Territory
43	Idaho	July 3, 1890 (admitted)	7 months and 22 days	Idaho Territory
44	Wyoming	July 10, 1890 (admitted)	7 days	Wyoming Territory
45	Utah	January 4, 1896^[41] (admitted)	5 years, 5 months, and 25 days	Utah Territory
46	Oklahoma	November 16, 1907^[42] (admitted)	11 years, 10 months, and 12 days	Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory
47	New Mexico	January 6, 1912 (admitted)	4 years, 1 month, and 21 days	New Mexico Territory
48	Arizona	February 14, 1912 (admitted)	1 month and 8 days	Arizona Territory
49	Alaska	January 3, 1959 (admitted)	46 years, 10 months, and 20 days	Territory of Alaska
50	Hawaii	August 21, 1959 (admitted)	7 months and 18 days	Territory of Hawaii
		Time since 50th state admitted:	64 years, 8 months, and 23 days

Articles of Confederation ratification dates

The Second Continental Congress approved the Articles of Confederation for ratification by the individual states on November 15, 1777. The Articles of Confederation came into force on March 1, 1781, after being ratified by all 13 states. On March 4, 1789, the general government under the Articles was replaced with the federal government under the present Constitution.^[43]

State		Date
1	Virginia	December 16, 1777
2	South Carolina	February 5, 1778
3	New York	February 6, 1778
4	Rhode Island	February 9, 1778
5	Connecticut	February 12, 1778
6	Georgia	February 26, 1778
7	New Hampshire	March 4, 1778
8	Pennsylvania	March 5, 1778
9	Massachusetts	March 10, 1778
10	North Carolina	April 5, 1778
11	New Jersey	November 19, 1778
12	Delaware	February 1, 1779
13	Maryland	February 2, 1781

Notes

^ This list does not account for the secession of 11 states (Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas) during the Civil War to form the Confederate States of America, nor for the subsequent restoration of those states to the Union, or each state's "readmission to representation in Congress" after the war, as the federal government does not give legal recognition to their having left the Union. Also, the Constitution is silent on the question of whether states have the power to secede from the Union, but the Supreme Court held that a state cannot unilaterally do so in Texas v. White (1869).^[7]
^ Also known as the "Three Lower Counties Upon Delaware". Delaware became a state on June 15, 1776, when the Delaware Assembly formally adopted a resolution declaring an end to Delaware's status as a colony of Great Britain and establishing the three counties as an independent state under the authority of "the Government of the Counties of New Castle, Kent and Sussex Upon Delaware".^[9]
^ Between 1749 and 1764 the provincial governor of New Hampshire, Benning Wentworth, issued approximately 135 grants for unoccupied land claimed by New Hampshire west of the Connecticut River (in what is today southern Vermont), territory that was also claimed by New York. The resulting "New Hampshire Grants" dispute led to the rise of the Green Mountain Boys, and the later establishment of the Vermont Republic. New Hampshire's claim upon the land was extinguished in 1764 by royal order of George III, and in 1790 the State of New York ceded its land claim to Vermont for 30,000 dollars.
^ The Virginia General Assembly adopted legislation on December 18, 1789 separating its "District of Kentucky" from the rest of the State and approving its statehood.^[17]
^ The exact date upon which Ohio became a state is unclear. On April 30, 1802 the 7th Congress had passed an act "authorizing the inhabitants of Ohio to form a Constitution and state government, and admission of Ohio into the Union" (Sess. 1, ch. 40, 2 Stat. 173). On February 19, 1803 the same Congress passed an act "providing for the execution of the laws of the United States in the State of Ohio" (Sess. 2, ch. 7, 2 Stat. 201). Neither act, however, set a formal date of statehood. An official statehood date for Ohio was not set until 1953, when the 83rd Congress passed a Joint resolution "for admitting the State of Ohio into the Union", (Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 83–204, 67 Stat. 407, enacted August 7, 1953) which designated March 1, 1803, as that date.^[20]
^ The Massachusetts General Court passed enabling legislation on June 19, 1819 separating the "District of Maine" from the rest of the State (an action approved by the voters in Maine on July 19, 1819 by 17,001 to 7,132); then, on February 25, 1820, passed a follow-up measure officially accepting the fact of Maine's imminent statehood.^[17]
^ On May 13, 1862, the General Assembly of the Restored Government of Virginia passed an act granting permission for creation of West Virginia.^[34] Later, by its ruling in Virginia v. West Virginia (1871), the Supreme Court implicitly affirmed that the breakaway Virginia counties did have the proper consents necessary to become a separate state.^[35]
^ When President Benjamin Harrison signed the statehood proclamations for North and South Dakota he shuffled the papers on his desk and covered up all but the signature line of the documents. No one knows which state he signed into existence first. North Dakota's proclamation was published first in the Statutes at Large, as it is first in alphabetical order.^[37]
^ ^a ^b Brought into existence within moments of each other on the same day, North and South Dakota are the nation's only twin-born states.

References

^ Erler, Edward. "Essays on Amendment XIV: Citizenship". The Heritage Foundation.
^ "Frequently Asked Questions About the Minnesota Legislature". Minnesota State Legislature.
^ Kristin D. Burnett. "Congressional Apportionment (2010 Census Briefs C2010BR-08)" (PDF). U.S. Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration.
^ Elhauge, Einer R. "Essays on Article II: Presidential Electors". The Heritage Foundation.
^ "Doctrine of the Equality of States". Justia.com.
^ Jensen, Merrill (1959). The Articles of Confederation: An Interpretation of the Social-Constitutional History of the American Revolution, 1774–1781. University of Wisconsin Press. pp. xi, 184. ISBN 978-0-299-00204-6.
^ "Texas v. White 74 U.S. 700 (1868)". Justia.com.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Vile, John R. (2005). The Constitutional Convention of 1787: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of America's Founding (Volume 1: A-M). ABC-CLIO. p. 658. ISBN 1-85109-669-8.
^ "Delaware Government". Delaware.gov. Government Information Center, Delaware Department of State.
^ "Overview of Pennsylvania History - 1776-1861: Independence to the Civil War". PA.gov. Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission.
^ "1787 Convention Minutes". NJ.gov. New Jersey Department of State.
^ "Today in History: January 9". loc.gov. Library of Congress.
^ "Today in History: July 26". loc.gov. Library of Congress.
^ "Today in History: November 21". loc.gov. Library of Congress.
^ "The 14th State". Vermont History Explorer. Vermont Historical Society.
^ "Constitution Square Historic Site". Danville/Boyle County Convention and Visitors Bureau.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ ^a ^b "Official Name and Status History of the several States and U.S. Territories". TheGreenPapers.com.
^ "State History Timeline". TN.gov. Tennessee Department of State. Archived from the original on April 10, 2016. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
^ Blue, Frederick J. (Autumn 2002). "The Date of Ohio Statehood". Ohio Academy of History Newsletter. Archived from the original on September 11, 2010.
^ Clearing up the Confusion surrounding Ohio's Admission to Statehood
^ "About Louisiana: quick facts". louisiana.gov. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
^ "Welcome from the Mississippi Bicentennial Celebration Commission". Mississippi Bicentennial Celebration Commission. Retrieved February 16, 2017.
^ "Today in History: December 3". loc.gov. Library of Congress.
^ "Alabama History Timeline: 1800-1860". alabama.gov. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
^ "Today in History: March 15". loc.gov. Library of Congress.
^ "Today in History: August 10". loc.gov. Library of Congress.
^ "Today in History: June 15". loc.gov. Library of Congress.
^ "Today in History: January 26". loc.gov. Library of Congress.
^ "Today in History: May 29". loc.gov. Library of Congress.
^ "California Admission Day September 9, 1850". CA.gov. California Department of Parks and Recreation.
^ "Today in History: May 11". loc.gov. Library of Congress.
^ "Today in History: January 29". loc.gov. Library of Congress.
^ "Today in History: June 20". loc.gov. Library of Congress.
^ "A State of Convenience: The Creation of West Virginia, Chapter Twelve, Reorganized Government of Virginia Approves Separation". Wvculture.org. West Virginia Division of Culture and History.
^ "Virginia v. West Virginia 78 U.S. 39 (1870)". Justia.com.
^ "Today in History: August 1". loc.gov. Library of Congress.
^ MacPherson, James; Burbach, Kevin (November 2, 2014). "At 125 years of Dakotas statehood, rivalry remains". Bismarck Tribune.
^ ^a ^b "Today in History: November 2". loc.gov. Library of Congress.
^ Wishart, David J. (ed.). "Montana". Encyclopedia of the Great Plains. University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
^ "Today in History: November 11". loc.gov. Library of Congress.
^ Thatcher, Linda Thatcher (2016). "Struggle For Statehood Chronology". historytogo.utah.gov. State of Utah.
^ "Today in History: November 16". loc.gov. Library of Congress.
^ Rodgers, Paul (2011). United States Constitutional Law: An Introduction. McFarland. p. 109. ISBN 978-0-7864-6017-5.

External links

"U.S. States Videos". History.com.
"Dates of statehood". 50states.com.

[8] This list does not account for the secession of 11 states (Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas) during the Civil War to form the Confederate States of America, nor for the subsequent restoration of those states to the Union, or each state's "readmission to representation in Congress" after the war, as the federal government does not give legal recognition to their having left the Union. Also, the Constitution is silent on the question of whether states have the power to secede from the Union, but the Supreme Court held that a state cannot unilaterally do so in Texas v. White (1869).^[7]

[11] Also known as the "Three Lower Counties Upon Delaware". Delaware became a state on June 15, 1776, when the Delaware Assembly formally adopted a resolution declaring an end to Delaware's status as a colony of Great Britain and establishing the three counties as an independent state under the authority of "the Government of the Counties of New Castle, Kent and Sussex Upon Delaware".^[9]

[18] Between 1749 and 1764 the provincial governor of New Hampshire, Benning Wentworth, issued approximately 135 grants for unoccupied land claimed by New Hampshire west of the Connecticut River (in what is today southern Vermont), territory that was also claimed by New York. The resulting "New Hampshire Grants" dispute led to the rise of the Green Mountain Boys, and the later establishment of the Vermont Republic. New Hampshire's claim upon the land was extinguished in 1764 by royal order of George III, and in 1790 the State of New York ceded its land claim to Vermont for 30,000 dollars.

[21] The Virginia General Assembly adopted legislation on December 18, 1789 separating its "District of Kentucky" from the rest of the State and approving its statehood.^[17]

[25] The exact date upon which Ohio became a state is unclear. On April 30, 1802 the 7th Congress had passed an act "authorizing the inhabitants of Ohio to form a Constitution and state government, and admission of Ohio into the Union" (Sess. 1, ch. 40, 2 Stat. 173). On February 19, 1803 the same Congress passed an act "providing for the execution of the laws of the United States in the State of Ohio" (Sess. 2, ch. 7, 2 Stat. 201). Neither act, however, set a formal date of statehood. An official statehood date for Ohio was not set until 1953, when the 83rd Congress passed a Joint resolution "for admitting the State of Ohio into the Union", (Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 83–204, 67 Stat. 407, enacted August 7, 1953) which designated March 1, 1803, as that date.^[20]

[31] The Massachusetts General Court passed enabling legislation on June 19, 1819 separating the "District of Maine" from the rest of the State (an action approved by the voters in Maine on July 19, 1819 by 17,001 to 7,132); then, on February 25, 1820, passed a follow-up measure officially accepting the fact of Maine's imminent statehood.^[17]

[42] On May 13, 1862, the General Assembly of the Restored Government of Virginia passed an act granting permission for creation of West Virginia.^[34] Later, by its ruling in Virginia v. West Virginia (1871), the Supreme Court implicitly affirmed that the breakaway Virginia counties did have the proper consents necessary to become a separate state.^[35]

[45] When President Benjamin Harrison signed the statehood proclamations for North and South Dakota he shuffled the papers on his desk and covered up all but the signature line of the documents. No one knows which state he signed into existence first. North Dakota's proclamation was published first in the Statutes at Large, as it is first in alphabetical order.^[37]

[twins-47] Brought into existence within moments of each other on the same day, North and South Dakota are the nation's only twin-born states.

[1] Erler, Edward. "Essays on Amendment XIV: Citizenship". The Heritage Foundation.

[2] "Frequently Asked Questions About the Minnesota Legislature". Minnesota State Legislature.

[3] Kristin D. Burnett. "Congressional Apportionment (2010 Census Briefs C2010BR-08)" (PDF). U.S. Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration.

[4] Elhauge, Einer R. "Essays on Article II: Presidential Electors". The Heritage Foundation.

[5] "Doctrine of the Equality of States". Justia.com.

[6] Jensen, Merrill (1959). The Articles of Confederation: An Interpretation of the Social-Constitutional History of the American Revolution, 1774–1781. University of Wisconsin Press. pp. xi, 184. ISBN 978-0-299-00204-6.

[7] "Texas v. White 74 U.S. 700 (1868)". Justia.com.

[JRVlist-9] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Vile, John R. (2005). The Constitutional Convention of 1787: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of America's Founding (Volume 1: A-M). ABC-CLIO. p. 658. ISBN 1-85109-669-8.

[10] "Delaware Government". Delaware.gov. Government Information Center, Delaware Department of State.

[12] "Overview of Pennsylvania History - 1776-1861: Independence to the Civil War". PA.gov. Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission.

[13] "1787 Convention Minutes". NJ.gov. New Jersey Department of State.

[14] "Today in History: January 9". loc.gov. Library of Congress.

[15] "Today in History: July 26". loc.gov. Library of Congress.

[16] "Today in History: November 21". loc.gov. Library of Congress.

[17] "The 14th State". Vermont History Explorer. Vermont Historical Society.

[19] "Constitution Square Historic Site". Danville/Boyle County Convention and Visitors Bureau.^{[permanent dead link]}

[GP-20] "Official Name and Status History of the several States and U.S. Territories". TheGreenPapers.com.

[22] "State History Timeline". TN.gov. Tennessee Department of State. Archived from the original on April 10, 2016. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)

[23] Blue, Frederick J. (Autumn 2002). "The Date of Ohio Statehood". Ohio Academy of History Newsletter. Archived from the original on September 11, 2010.

[24] Clearing up the Confusion surrounding Ohio's Admission to Statehood

[26] "About Louisiana: quick facts". louisiana.gov. Retrieved June 15, 2016.

[27] "Welcome from the Mississippi Bicentennial Celebration Commission". Mississippi Bicentennial Celebration Commission. Retrieved February 16, 2017.

[28] "Today in History: December 3". loc.gov. Library of Congress.

[29] "Alabama History Timeline: 1800-1860". alabama.gov. Retrieved June 15, 2016.

[30] "Today in History: March 15". loc.gov. Library of Congress.

[32] "Today in History: August 10". loc.gov. Library of Congress.

[33] "Today in History: June 15". loc.gov. Library of Congress.

[34] "Today in History: January 26". loc.gov. Library of Congress.

[35] "Today in History: May 29". loc.gov. Library of Congress.

[36] "California Admission Day September 9, 1850". CA.gov. California Department of Parks and Recreation.

[37] "Today in History: May 11". loc.gov. Library of Congress.

[38] "Today in History: January 29". loc.gov. Library of Congress.

[39] "Today in History: June 20". loc.gov. Library of Congress.

[40] "A State of Convenience: The Creation of West Virginia, Chapter Twelve, Reorganized Government of Virginia Approves Separation". Wvculture.org. West Virginia Division of Culture and History.

[41] "Virginia v. West Virginia 78 U.S. 39 (1870)". Justia.com.

[43] "Today in History: August 1". loc.gov. Library of Congress.

[44] MacPherson, James; Burbach, Kevin (November 2, 2014). "At 125 years of Dakotas statehood, rivalry remains". Bismarck Tribune.

[39&40-46] "Today in History: November 2". loc.gov. Library of Congress.

[48] Wishart, David J. (ed.). "Montana". Encyclopedia of the Great Plains. University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Retrieved February 15, 2017.

[49] "Today in History: November 11". loc.gov. Library of Congress.

[50] Thatcher, Linda Thatcher (2016). "Struggle For Statehood Chronology". historytogo.utah.gov. State of Utah.

[51] "Today in History: November 16". loc.gov. Library of Congress.

[52] Rodgers, Paul (2011). United States Constitutional Law: An Introduction. McFarland. p. 109. ISBN 978-0-7864-6017-5.

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