How the 50 US States Joined the Union

Switch tabs to see states by era. Watch the expansion from the East Coast westward.

Original 13 — 1787–1790

The 13 British colonies that won the Revolutionary War (1775–1783), listed in order of Constitutional ratification.

#	State	Ratified
1	Delaware	Dec 7, 1787
2	Pennsylvania	Dec 12, 1787
3	New Jersey	Dec 18, 1787
4	Georgia	Jan 2, 1788
5	Connecticut	Jan 9, 1788
6	Massachusetts	Feb 6, 1788
7	Maryland	Apr 28, 1788
8	South Carolina	May 23, 1788
9	New Hampshire	Jun 21, 1788
10	Virginia	Jun 25, 1788
11	New York	Jul 26, 1788
12	North Carolina	Nov 21, 1789
13	Rhode Island	May 29, 1790

Delaware is #1 — first to ratify. License plates read "The First State"
New Hampshire was #9, meeting the 9-of-13 threshold to activate the Constitution
Rhode Island was the last holdout — seriously considered leaving the union

Early Expansion — 1791–1820 (10 states)

Crossing the Appalachians. Expanding to the Mississippi River basin.

Vermont — Was an independent republic during the Revolution (1777–1791)
Kentucky — Split from Virginia
Ohio — First state carved from the Northwest Territory
Louisiana — First state from the 1803 Louisiana Purchase (acquired from France)
Maine — Split from Massachusetts as part of the Missouri Compromise

Westward Expansion — 1821–1860 (10 states)

Beyond the Mississippi to the Pacific. Driven by the Mexican-American War (1846–1848) and the Gold Rush.

Texas — Was an independent republic (1836–1845) after breaking from Mexico
California — Gold discovered in 1848. Skipped the territorial phase and became a state directly in 1850
Missouri Compromise (1820) — A political deal to balance slave and free states. Admission order became a constant political issue
Oregon — Jointly administered with Britain until the 1846 boundary treaty at the 49th parallel

Post-Civil War — 1861–1912 (15 states)

The Great Plains and Rocky Mountain West. Railroads drove expansion.

West Virginia — Split from Virginia during the Civil War, refusing to join the Confederacy
Nevada — Rushed to statehood in 1864 because the North needed its electoral votes
1889 Rush: North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Washington all admitted at once
Utah — Statehood was conditional on the Mormon Church abandoning polygamy
New Mexico & Arizona (1912) — Completed the contiguous 48 states

Last Two — 1959

After a 47-year gap, the first non-contiguous territories to become states.

Alaska (Jan 3, 1959) — Largest state by area. Purchased from Russia in 1867. Strategic value recognized during the Cold War
Hawaii (Aug 21, 1959) — The 50th state. Americans overthrew the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1893. Native Hawaiian sovereignty movements continue today

Washington D.C. is not a state — it's a federal district. Population 690,000 with no senators. Statehood efforts continue but remain politically deadlocked.