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U.S. States: Which Came First?

Given two U.S. states, can you guess which state was admitted to the Union earlier?
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Quiz by JWatson24
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Last updated: January 23, 2022
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First submittedJanuary 23, 2022
Times taken418
Average score80.0%
Rating4.44
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1. Delaware or Virginia?
Delaware
Virginia
Delaware was the first state, ratifying the Constitution on December 7th, 1787. Virginia joined on June 25th, 1788.
2. Louisiana or Florida?
Louisiana
Florida
Louisiana: April 30th, 1812; Florida: March 3rd, 1845
3. Illinois or Kentucky?
Illinois
Kentucky
Illinois: December 3rd, 1818; Kentucky: June 1st, 1792
4. Minnesota or Montana?
Minnesota
Montana
Minnesota: May 11th,1858; Montana: November 8th, 1889
5. California or Texas?
California
Texas
California: September 9th, 1850, during the Gold Rush; Texas: December 29th,1845, right before the Mexican-American War
6. Arizona or Colorado?
Arizona
Colorado
Arizona: February 14th, 1912; Colorado: August 1st, 1876, known as the Centennial State since it entered the Union 100 years after independence
7. Alaska or Hawaii?
Alaska
Hawaii
These were the last two states to join the Union, with Alaska joining on January 3rd, 1959 and Hawaii on August 21st, 1959
8. Vermont or Massachusetts?
Vermont
Massachusetts
Vermont: March 4th, 1791, becoming the first state that wasn't part of the 13 original colonies; Massachusetts: February 6th, 1788
9. West Virginia or Tennessee?
West Virginia
Tennessee
West Virginia: June 20th, 1863, as a secession from Virginia during the Civil War; Tennessee: June 21st, 1796
10. Oklahoma or Kansas?
Oklahoma
Kansas
Oklahoma: November 16th, 1907, its late admission reflecting the fact that it was mostly Indian Territory; Kansas: January 29th, 1861, right before the Civil War
11. Missouri or Iowa?
Missouri
Iowa
Missouri: August 10th, 1821, admitted as part of the Missouri Compromise; Iowa: December 28th, 1846
12. Washington or Oregon?
Washington
Oregon
Oregon: February 14th, 1859; Washington: November 11th, 1889
13. Pennsylvania or Ohio?
Pennsylvania
Ohio
Pennsylvania: December 12th,1787; Ohio: March 1st, 1803
14. Wyoming or Wisconsin?
Wyoming
Wisconsin
Wyoming: July 10th, 1890; Wisconsin: May 29th, 1848
15. Alabama or Georgia?
Alabama
Georgia
Alabama: December 14th, 1819; Georgia: January 2nd, 1788
+1
Level 71
Jan 27, 2022
Thanks to whoever spotlighted this!
+2
Level 88
Jan 27, 2022
Nice idea!
+1
Level 71
Jan 27, 2022
Thanks!
+2
Level 48
Feb 3, 2022
Cool idea. When in doubt, just guess whatever is farther east.
+1
Level 71
Feb 3, 2022
Glad you liked it! That's definitely the trend for most states. I didn't want it to be that obvious though so I tried added a few tricky ones that went against that rule, like Louisiana and Florida.
+1
Level 62
Feb 3, 2022
I missed the Texas one because they rejoined the Union in 1870 after the Civil War. I guess they never lost their order of statehood
+1
Level 71
Feb 4, 2022
Yeah, generally when people talk about the date a state being accepted into the Union, it's the date where it first happened, not the date they re-entered (for Confederate States). Keep in mind the Union never really saw the Confederacy as a legitimate entity--the process of "re-entering" the Union was more a formality than an actual expansion of the Union.