On Dec. 3, 1818, Illinois became the 21st state admitted to the United States. Illinois is known as the “Land of Lincoln” in recognition of the years President Abraham Lincoln lived and built his political career in the state.
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On June 1, 1796, Tennessee became the 16th state admitted to the United States. Interestingly, it wasn’t the first time Tennessee sought statehood. A decade earlier, a swath of Tennessee’s eastern territory — one owned by North Carolina and offered to Congress as a payment on the state’s war debt — took the occasion to declare its independence and apply for statehood under the name Franklin, reportedly as a tribute to Benjamin Franklin.
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The Council of State Governments (CSG) applauds the final passage by Congress of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, bipartisan legislation aimed at expanding the nation’s housing supply and bringing down costs for American families.
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On Dec. 10, 1817, Mississippi became the 20th state admitted to the United States. Created by Congress in 1798, the Mississippi Territory followed a long and complex colonial history and included lands long home to Native Nations, including the Choctaw and Chickasaw peoples.
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In the wake of the American Revolution, present-day Indiana became part of the U.S.-claimed Northwest Territory and later the Indiana Territory before becoming the 19th state on Dec. 11, 1816.
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On June 1, 1792, Kentucky became the 15th state admitted to the United States. Originally a part of colonial Virginia, Kentucky’s residents petitioned to break away and form their own state, winning Congressional approval in 1791.
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On Nov. 21, 1789, North Carolina became the 12th state to ratify the U.S. Constitution. North Carolina holds the distinction as the site of the first attempted English settlement in America, known to history as the Lost Colony. In 1587, a group of more than 100 colonists under John White settled on Roanoke Island.
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On June 25, 1788, Virginia became the 10th state to ratify the U.S. Constitution. Dubbed the “cradle of America,” Virginia has historically played a pivotal role in many of our nation’s most consequential moments. It was the site of the first permanent English settlement in America, Jamestown, established in 1607 on the banks of the James River.
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On March 1, 1803, Ohio became the 17th state admitted to the United States. With nearly 12 million residents, the “Buckeye State” is the nation’s seventh most populous state, a ranking anchored by its major metropolitan areas, including Cleveland, Cincinnati, Dayton, Akron and Toledo.
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On May 29, 1790, Rhode Island became the 13th and final colony to ratify the U.S. Constitution. Before independence, Rhode Island was an early center of resistance to British rule. In 1772, a group of Rhode Island townsmen burned a Royal Navy schooner, the HMS Gaspee, which was enforcing British customs trade laws in Narragansett Bay.
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