The order in which the original 13 states ratified the 1787 Constitution, then the order in which the others were admitted to the union
This is a list of U.S. states by date of statehood. It has the date when each U.S. state joined the Union. However,
Virginia's peoples convention in May-June 1776 prepared the first Constitution for a State Government, plus a Declaration of Rights. Other Colonies became States in late 1776 and into 1777, and used Virginia's Declaration of Rights as a pattern for their own Declaration. In the 1778 Articles of Confederation, which formed the first national government, it specified the name of the country as "The United States of America", stating "Each State retains its sovereignty, freedom and independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not by this Confederation expressly delegated." It also stated "Articles of Confederation and perpetual Union between the States, or a Union of State Legislatures. The first 13 States thus were in this Union from 1778 to 1789, when the second national government was established by a Constitution, which, in list of purposes, "in order to form a more perfect Union". This does not make the States enter the Union only when it ratified the U.S. Constitution. The 1787 Convention, which decided not to amend the Articles for the first national government but prepare a Constitution, selected.the Virginia Plan of a three-branch, republican form of government, and went one step further and had the Constitution guarantee the same form of government in each State. The Constitution does not use the word "Democracy" nor "Republic", and the founders/framers provided the prerequisites and other elements of the unique republican form of government.
| # |
State |
Date joined |
What it was before becoming a state |
|---|
| 1 |
Delaware |
Friday, December 7, 1787 ‡ |
Lower Counties on Delaware, then sovereign state in Confederation |
| 2 |
Pennsylvania |
Wednesday, December 12, 1787 ‡ |
Province of Pennsylvania, then sovereign state in Confederation |
| 3 |
New Jersey |
Tuesday, December 18, 1787 ‡ |
Province of New Jersey, then sovereign state in Confederation |
| 4 |
Georgia |
Wednesday, January 2, 1788 ‡ |
Province of Georgia, then sovereign state in Confederation |
| 5 |
Connecticut |
Wednesday, January 9, 1788 ‡ |
Connecticut Colony, then sovereign state in Confederation |
| 6 |
Massachusetts |
Wednesday, February 6, 1788 ‡ |
Province of Massachusetts Bay, then sovereign state in Confederation |
| 7 |
Maryland |
Monday, April 28, 1788 ‡ |
Province of Maryland, then sovereign state in Confederation |
| 8 |
South Carolina |
Friday, May 23, 1788 ‡ |
Province of South Carolina, then sovereign state in Confederation |
| 9 |
New Hampshire |
Saturday, June 21, 1788 ‡ |
Province of New Hampshire, then sovereign state in Confederation |
| 10 |
Virginia |
Wednesday, June 25, 1788 ‡ |
Virginia Colony, then sovereign state in Confederation |
| 11 |
New York |
Saturday, July 26, 1788 ‡ |
Province of New York, then sovereign state in Confederation |
| 12 |
North Carolina |
Saturday, November 21, 1789 ‡ |
Province of North Carolina, then sovereign state in Confederation |
| 13 |
Rhode Island |
Saturday, May 29, 1790 ‡ |
Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, then sovereign state in Confederation |
| 14 |
Vermont |
Friday, March 4, 1791 |
Province of New York and New Hampshire Grants (ownership disputed), Vermont Republic |
| 15 |
Kentucky |
Friday, June 1, 1792 |
Virginia |
| 16 |
Tennessee |
Wednesday, June 1, 1796 |
Province of North Carolina, Southwest Territory |
| 17 |
Ohio |
Tuesday, March 1, 1803* |
Northwest Territory |
| 18 |
Louisiana |
Thursday, April 30, 1812 |
Orleans Territory |
| 19 |
Indiana |
Wednesday, December 11, 1816 |
Indiana Territory |
| 20 |
Mississippi |
Wednesday, December 10, 1817 |
Mississippi Territory |
| 21 |
Illinois |
Thursday, December 3, 1818 |
Illinois Territory |
| 22 |
Alabama |
Tuesday, December 14, 1819 |
Alabama Territory |
| 23 |
Maine |
Wednesday, March 15, 1820 |
Massachusetts |
| 24 |
Missouri |
Friday, August 10, 1821 |
Missouri Territory |
| 25 |
Arkansas |
Wednesday, June 15, 1836 |
Arkansas Territory |
| 26 |
Michigan |
Thursday, January 26, 1837 |
Michigan Territory |
| 27 |
Florida |
Monday, March 3, 1845 |
Florida Territory |
| 28 |
Texas |
Monday, December 29, 1845 |
Republic of Texas |
| 29 |
Iowa |
Monday, December 28, 1846 |
Iowa Territory |
| 30 |
Wisconsin |
Monday, May 29, 1848 |
Wisconsin Territory |
| 31 |
California |
Monday, September 9, 1850 |
California RepublicMexican Cession, Alta California |
| 32 |
Minnesota |
Tuesday, May 11, 1858 |
Minnesota Territory |
| 33 |
Oregon |
Monday, February 14, 1859 |
Oregon Territory |
| 34 |
Kansas |
Tuesday, January 29, 1861 |
Kansas Territory |
| 35 |
West Virginia |
Saturday, June 20, 1863 |
Virginia |
| 36 |
Nevada |
Monday, October 31, 1864 |
Nevada Territory |
| 37 |
Nebraska |
Friday, March 1, 1867 |
Nebraska Territory |
| 38 |
Colorado |
Tuesday, August 1, 1876 |
Colorado Territory |
| 39 † |
North Dakota |
Saturday, November 2, 1889 |
Dakota Territory |
| 40 † |
South Dakota |
Saturday, November 2, 1889 |
Dakota Territory |
| 41 |
Montana |
Friday, November 8, 1889 |
Montana Territory |
| 42 |
Washington |
Monday, November 11, 1889 |
Washington Territory |
| 43 |
Idaho |
Thursday, July 3, 1890 |
Idaho Territory |
| 44 |
Wyoming |
Thursday, July 10, 1890 |
Wyoming Territory |
| 45 |
Utah |
Saturday, January 4, 1896 |
Utah Territory |
| 46 |
Oklahoma |
Saturday, November 16, 1907 |
Oklahoma Territory & Indian Territory |
| 47 |
New Mexico |
Saturday, January 6, 1912 |
New Mexico Territory |
| 48 |
Arizona |
Wednesday, February 14, 1912 |
Arizona Territory |
| 49 |
Alaska |
Saturday, January 3, 1959 |
Alaska Territory |
| 50 |
Hawaii |
Friday, August 21, 1959 |
Kingdom of Hawaii |
