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Rhode Island ratified the United States Constitution on May 29, 1790, becoming the thirteenth and last of the original states to accept the new federal framework. Its convention approved ratification by just 34 votes to 32. That narrow decision gives the anniversary its character: this was a hard-fought choice about government, not a routine admission of a western territory. Rhode Island’s contribution to the Union grew from strong local convictions, vigorous disagreement, and a willingne …

Tennessee entered the Union on June 1, 1796, as the sixteenth state. Its anniversary marks admission to the United States, not ratification by one of the original thirteen states. The familiar three-star flag came much later. Reading the state’s history alongside its flag reveals a place shaped by Indigenous nations, contested settlement, military service, industrial change, music, and persistent struggles over the meaning of freedom. (U.S. Senate: Tennessee timeline) Before Tennessee: In …

South Carolina celebrates its constitutional birthday on May 23, 1788, when it became the eighth state to ratify the United States Constitution. That date marks an important commitment to the American Union. It does not mark the beginning of the state's people, communities, or government. The U.S. Senate's South Carolina timeline identifies the anniversary precisely. The larger story reaches from Native villages and European coastal outposts to the American Revolution, plantation agriculture, th …

Louisiana became America’s eighteenth state on April 30, 1812. Its birthday belongs to a much longer story: Native homelands, French and Spanish colonial rule, the Louisiana Purchase, and the work of making a distinctive society part of the American republic. The state’s later history includes river commerce, slavery and emancipation, military service, remarkable music, industrial ingenuity, and repeated struggles to protect communities from water. U.S. Senate admission timeline. The …

Maine became the 23rd state on March 15, 1820, but its history reaches far beyond that birthday. Wabanaki homelands, fishing settlements, colonial conflicts and a long relationship with Massachusetts all came before admission. Afterward, Mainers helped preserve the Union, build America’s ships, expand constitutional participation and develop industries tied to the woods, water and ingenuity of their communities. The Maine House’s historical overview confirms the statehood date and th …