Seeking independence from England and the British Crown, thirteen American colonies declared

themselves sovereign and independent states. Their official flag is shown

below.

In the early history of America, western borders of most colonies varied some
from the modern-day state borders shown above - because in the west - the
British still controlled vast territories up to the Mississippi River. At that time
the colony of Virginia included all of the lands of what is now called West Virginia.

In the end the thirteen colonies were: Delaware, Pennsylvania, New

Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts Bay, Maryland, South Carolina, New
Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina, and Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.
Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and New Jersey were formed by mergers of previous
colonies.

The New England Colonies

 New Hampshire Province, chartered as a

British colony in 1679
 Massachusetts Bay Province chartered as a
British colony in1692
 Rhode Island Colony chartered as a British
colony in 1663
 Connecticut Colony chartered as a British
colony in 1662

The Middle Colonies

 New York Province, chartered as a British colony in 1686

 New Jersey Province, chartered as a British colony in 1702
 Pennsylvania Province, a proprietary colony established in 1681
 Delaware Colony (before 1776, the Lower Counties on the Delaware River), a proprietary
colony established in 1664

The Southern Colonies

 Maryland Province, a proprietary colony established in 1632

 Virginia Dominion and Colony, a British colony established in 1607
 Carolina Province, a proprietary colony established 1663
 Divided Provinces of North and South Carolina, each chartered as British colonies in 1729
 Georgia Province, a British colony established in 1732
Establishment of the 13 States

The 13 states were officially established by the Articles of Confederation, ratified on March 1, 1781. The
Articles created a loose confederation of sovereign states operating alongside a weak central government.
Unlike the current power-sharing system of “federalism,” the Articles of Confederation bestowed most
governmental powers to the states. The need for a stronger national government soon became apparent and
eventually led to the Constitutional Convention in 1787. The United States Constitution replaced the Articles of
Confederation on March 4, 1789.

The original 13 states recognized by the Articles of Confederation were (in chronological order):

1. Delaware (ratified the Constitution on December 7, 1787)

2. Pennsylvania (ratified the Constitution on December 12, 1787)
3. New Jersey (ratified the Constitution on December 18, 1787)
4. Georgia (ratified the Constitution on January 2, 1788)
5. Connecticut (ratified the Constitution on January 9, 1788)
6. Massachusetts (ratified the Constitution on February 6, 1788)
7. Maryland (ratified the Constitution on April 28, 1788)
8. South Carolina (ratified the Constitution on May 23, 1788)
9. New Hampshire (ratified the Constitution on June 21, 1788)
10. Virginia (ratified the Constitution on June 25, 1788)
11. New York (ratified the Constitution on July 26, 1788)
12. North Carolina (ratified the Constitution on November 21, 1789)
13. Rhode Island (ratified the Constitution on May 29, 1790)

Where the 50 States Came From

In 1783, King George III signed the Treaty of Paris, officially ending the American War of Independence and
recognizing the 13 former British colonies -- New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island, Connecticut,
New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and
Georgia -- as "free sovereign and independent states" [source: National Archives].

As part of the Treaty of Paris, England handed over the area that is now the eastern United States, from the
Atlantic Ocean all the way to the Mississippi River, bound by Canada to the north and the Spanish colonies of
East and West Florida to the south [source: National Atlas]. This territory far exceeded the original boundaries
of the 13 colonies. In an effort to avoid territorial disputes among the new states, Congress convinced the states
to relinquish control of uninhabited lands to the Federal government.

These "unappropriated" frontier lands were divided into territories with names like the Northwest Territory,
Mississippi Territory and Southwest Territory. One by one, portions of those territories petitioned for statehood,
which is how the Northwest Territory eventually became the states of Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois,
Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Other states were carved out of existing states: Vermont was sliced from New York (1791); Kentucky was born
from Virginia (1792); Tennessee began as the western extension of North Carolina (1796); Maine was
originally part of Massachusetts (1820); and West Virginia split from Virginia in 1863 to join the Union in
the Civil War [sources: National Atlas and West Virginia Archives and History].

The rest of the U.S. began as land purchased from other countries or as the spoils of war. The Louisiana
Purchase (1803) is the largest and most famous, doubling the size of the nation for a price tag of $15 million
[source: Library of Congress]. The U.S. also bought Florida from Spain and Alaska from Russia.

Large portions of the American West were once Mexican territories. Texas won independence from Mexico in
1836 and was annexed by the U.S. as a state in 1845. After losing the Mexican-American War, Mexico ceded
the land that would become California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona and parts of Colorado and New Mexico for $15
million [source: National Atlas].

Hawaii, the most geographically isolated state, first became a U.S. territory in 1898, after American colonists
overthrew the Hawaiian kingdom in a peaceful coup [source: Hawaii Tourism Authority]. Hawaii didn't become
a state until 1959, well after its critical role in triggering America's involvement in World War II.

Puerto Rico isn't the only contender for the 51st state. On the next page, we'll discuss Puerto Rico's chances and
look at some of the statehood failures that came before it.