List of U.S. states by date of admission to the Union

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Map of the United States with names and borders of states
The order in which the original 13 states ratified the constitution, then the order in which the others were admitted to the union

A state of the United States of America is one of the 50 constituent entities that shares its sovereignty with the federal government. Due to the shared sovereignty between each state and the federal government, Americans are citizens of both the federal republic and of the state in which they reside.[1] Four—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, and possess a number of powers and rights under the United States Constitution, such as regulating intrastate commerce, running elections, creating local governments, and ratifying constitutional amendments. Each state has its own constitution, grounded in republican principles, and government, consisting of three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial.[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, while Representatives are distributed among the states in proportion to 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 Declaration of Independence, and each joined the first Union of states upon ratifying the Articles of Confederation between 1777 and 1781. These states are presented in the order that 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 Order Date of admission Formed from
 Delaware 1 December 7, 1787[7] Crown Colony of Delaware[b]
 Pennsylvania 2 December 12, 1787[9] Crown Colony of Pennsylvania
 New Jersey 3 December 18, 1787[10] Crown Colony of New Jersey
 Georgia 4 January 2, 1788[7] Crown Colony of Georgia
 Connecticut 5 January 9, 1788[11] Crown Colony of Connecticut
 Massachusetts 6 February 6, 1788[7] Crown Colony of Massachusetts Bay
 Maryland 7 April 28, 1788[7] Crown Colony of Maryland
 South Carolina 8 May 23, 1788[7] Crown Colony of South Carolina
 New Hampshire 9 June 21, 1788[7] Crown Colony of New Hampshire
 Virginia 10 June 25, 1788[7] Crown Colony of Virginia
 New York 11 July 26, 1788[12] Crown Colony of New York
 North Carolina 12 November 21, 1789[13] Crown Colony of North Carolina
 Rhode Island 13 May 29, 1790[7] Crown Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
 Vermont 14 March 4, 1791[14] Vermont Republic (also known as the New Hampshire Grants[c])
 Kentucky 15 June 1, 1792[15] Virginia (District of Kentucky: Fayette, Jefferson, and Lincoln counties[d])
 Tennessee 16 June 1, 1796[17] Southwest Territory
 Ohio 17 March 1, 1803[18][e] Northwest Territory (part)
 Louisiana 18 April 30, 1812[20] Territory of Orleans
 Indiana 19 December 11, 1816 Indiana Territory
 Mississippi 20 December 10, 1817 Mississippi Territory
 Illinois 21 December 3, 1818[21] Illinois Territory (part)
 Alabama 22 December 14, 1819[22] Alabama Territory
 Maine 23 March 15, 1820[23] Massachusetts (District of Maine[f])
 Missouri 24 August 10, 1821[24] Missouri Territory (part)
 Arkansas 25 June 15, 1836[25] Arkansas Territory
 Michigan 26 January 26, 1837[26] Michigan Territory
 Florida 27 March 3, 1845 Florida Territory
 Texas 28 December 29, 1845 Republic of Texas
 Iowa 29 December 28, 1846 Iowa Territory (part)
 Wisconsin 30 May 29, 1848[27] Wisconsin Territory (part)
 California 31 September 9, 1850[28] unorganized territory (part)
 Minnesota 32 May 11, 1858[29] Minnesota Territory (part)
 Oregon 33 February 14, 1859 Oregon Territory (part)
 Kansas 34 January 29, 1861[30] Kansas Territory (part)
 West Virginia 35 June 20, 1863[31] Virginia (Trans-Allegheny region counties[g])
 Nevada 36 October 31, 1864 Nevada Territory
 Nebraska 37 March 1, 1867 Nebraska Territory
 Colorado 38 August 1, 1876[34] Colorado Territory
 North Dakota 39[h] November 2, 1889[36][i] Dakota Territory (part)
 South Dakota 40 Dakota Territory (part)
 Montana 41 November 8, 1889 Montana Territory
 Washington 42 November 11, 1889[37] Washington Territory
 Idaho 43 July 3, 1890 Idaho Territory
 Wyoming 44 July 10, 1890 Wyoming Territory
 Utah 45 January 4, 1896[38] Utah Territory
 Oklahoma 46 November 16, 1907[39] Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory
 New Mexico 47 January 6, 1912 New Mexico Territory
 Arizona 48 February 14, 1912 Arizona Territory
 Alaska 49 January 3, 1959 Territory of Alaska
 Hawaii 50 August 21, 1959 Territory of Hawaii

See also

  • Enabling Act of 1802, authorizing residents of the eastern portion of the Northwest Territory to form the state of Ohio
  • Missouri Compromise, 1820 federal statute enabling the admission of Missouri (a slave state) and Maine (a free state) into the Union
  • Toledo War, 1835–36 boundary dispute between Ohio and the adjoining Michigan Territory, which delayed Michigan's admission to the Union
  • Texas annexation, the 1845 incorporation of the Republic of Texas into the United States as a state in the Union
  • Compromise of 1850, a package of congressional acts, one of which provided for the admission of California to the Union
  • Bleeding Kansas, a series of violent conflicts in Kansas Territory involving anti-slavery and pro-slavery factions in the years preceding Kansas statehood, 1854–61
  • Enabling Act of 1889, authorizing residents of Dakota, Montana, and Washington territories to form state governments (Dakota to be divided into two states) and to gain admission to the Union
  • Enabling Act of 1906 authorizing residents of Oklahoma, Indian, New Mexico, and Arizona territories to form state governments (Indian and Oklahoma territories to be combined into one state) and to gain admission to the Union
  • Alaska Statehood Act, admitting Alaska as a state in the Union as of January 3, 1959

Notes

  1. ^ 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, although the Constitution is silent on the question of whether states have the power to leave, or secede from, the Union, the Supreme Court, in Texas v. White (1869), held that a state cannot unilaterally do so.[6]
  2. ^ 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."[8]
  3. ^ 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 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 New Hampshire Grants claim to Vermont for 30,000 Dollars.
  4. ^ 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.[16]
  5. ^ 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.[19]
  6. ^ 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.[16]
  7. ^ On May 13, 1862, the General Assembly of the Restored Government of Virginia passed an act granting permission for creation of West Virginia.[32] 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.[33]
  8. ^ 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.[35]
  9. ^ 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

  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. ^ "Texas v. White 74 U.S. 700 (1868)". Justia.com.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ "Delaware Government". Delaware.gov. Government Information Center, Delaware Department of State.
  9. ^ "Overview of Pennsylvania History - 1776-1861: Independence to the Civil War". PA.gov. Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission.
  10. ^ "1787 Convention Minutes". NJ.gov. New Jersey Department of State.
  11. ^ "Today in History: January 9". loc.gov. Library of Congress.
  12. ^ "Today in History: July 26". loc.gov. Library of Congress.
  13. ^ "Today in History: November 21". loc.gov. Library of Congress.
  14. ^ "The 14th State". Vermont History Explorer. Vermont Historical Society.
  15. ^ "Constitution Square Historic Site". Danville/Boyle County Convention and Visitors Bureau.
  16. ^ a b "Official Name and Status History of the several States and U.S. Territories". TheGreenPapers.com.
  17. ^ "State History Timeline". TN.gov. Tennessee Department of State.
  18. ^ Blue, Frederick J. (Autumn 2002). "The Date of Ohio Statehood". Ohio Academy of History Newsletter. Archived from the original on September 11, 2010.
  19. ^ Clearing up the Confusion surrounding Ohio's Admission to Statehood
  20. ^ "About Louisiana: quick facts". louisiana.gov. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
  21. ^ "Today in History: December 3". loc.gov. Library of Congress.
  22. ^ "Alabama History Timeline: 1800-1860". alabama.gov. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
  23. ^ "Today in History: March 15". loc.gov. Library of Congress.
  24. ^ "Today in History: August 10". loc.gov. Library of Congress.
  25. ^ "Today in History: June 15". loc.gov. Library of Congress.
  26. ^ "Today in History: January 26". loc.gov. Library of Congress.
  27. ^ "Today in History: May 29". loc.gov. Library of Congress.
  28. ^ "California Admission Day September 9, 1850". CA.gov. California Department of Parks and Recreation.
  29. ^ "Today in History: May 11". loc.gov. Library of Congress.
  30. ^ "Today in History: January 29". loc.gov. Library of Congress.
  31. ^ "Today in History: June 20". loc.gov. Library of Congress.
  32. ^ "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.
  33. ^ "Virginia v. West Virginia 78 U.S. 39 (1870)". Justia.com.
  34. ^ "Today in History: August 1". loc.gov. Library of Congress.
  35. ^ MacPherson, James; Burbach, Kevin (November 2, 2014). "At 125 years of Dakotas statehood, rivalry remains". Bismarck Tribune.
  36. ^ "Today in History: November 2". loc.gov. Library of Congress.
  37. ^ "Today in History: November 11". loc.gov. Library of Congress.
  38. ^ Thatcher, Linda Thatcher (2016). "Struggle For Statehood Chronology". historytogo.utah.gov. State of Utah.
  39. ^ "Today in History: November 16". loc.gov. Library of Congress.

External links

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