State of the Union (21st-30th) Quiz

Answer: Illinois

After the establishment of Fort Dearborn in 1803, the creation of the Illinois Territory soon followed (February 3, 1809). In the process of applying for statehood, the northern border of Illinois was moved to include a larger area of lake access, and on December 3rd, 1818, Illinois became the 21st state to join the Union.

The first capital was in Kaskaskia (from 1809), then after admission to the Union it was moved to Vandalia in 1819. In 1837, Abraham Lincoln led the movement to have the capital changed to Springfield.

Answer: Alabama

Alabama traces its beginnings to the formation of the Mississippi Territory in 1798. Prior to Mississippi becoming the 20th state, a plan for dividing the territory was established (in March, 1817). When the soon-to-be state adopted a state constitution on August 15th, the Territory of Alabama was officially created as of that date, with St. Stephens named as the capital.

When Alabama was approved by Congress to become the 22nd state to join the Union, the Constitutional Convention was held in Huntsville in the summer of 1819, which would then serve as the state capital. Officially achieving statehood on December 14th of that year, the Alabamian seat of government would move from Huntsville to Cahaba in 1820, then to Tuscaloosa in 1826 before finally finding a home in Montgomery in 1846.

Answer: Maine

The territory that today makes up the state of Maine was an area of much dispute from the beginnings of European colonialism, with the French, British and Dutch all occupying parts of the region at one time or another. The 'Province of Maine' became part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1652, and when the United States came into being in 1776, Maine was officially considered part of the state of Massachusetts.

Regardless of this official standing, the residents of Maine were not happy with the lack of support from Massachusetts to defend against the British in both the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. A movement to secede finally came to fruition with the Missouri Compromise, which ensured a balance in slave and free states as they joined the Union. Maine was approved as its own state, separating from Massachusetts, on March 15th, 1820 as a balance to Missouri joining the next year.

Portland was set as the capital of the new state, a situation that lasted until 1832, when the seat of government was moved to Augusta.

Answer: Missouri

The Territory of Missouri came into existence in 1812, and by 1818 the territorial government was applying for statehood with Congress. The problem came when anti-slavery members of Congress pointed out that the balance between slave and free states would be upset if Missouri was granted statehood. Thus was born the Missouri Compromise... which kept the balance by having Maine join at (approximately) the same time.

Missouri's application was ratified in Congress on August 10th, 1821, with Saint Charles as the capital. And with that, Missouri became the first state west of the Mississippi River to join the Union. In 1826, the capital was moved to Jefferson City.

Answer: Arkansas

Following the precedent set by the Missouri Compromise, the Territory of Arkansas joined the Union as a slave state in balance to Michigan, keeping the split at 13/13. At first, there was no real interest by the territorial government, but once it was learned that Michigan had applied for statehood, it almost became an imperative to do the same.

Interestingly, with both Arkansas and Michigan being Democratic strongholds, both applications were initially declined by the Whig-dominated Congress. But things eventually turned around, and Arkansas became the 25th U.S. state on June 15th, 1836.

Answer: Michigan

The Michigan Territory came into being in 1805 with Detroit as the capital. The push for Michigan to join the Union was a direct result of immigration, as many New Englanders moved to the region in the 1820s and early 1830s. By 1832, the territorial government put forth its application, a process that would have made it the 25th U.S. state ahead of Arkansas, if it were not for a dispute with Ohio over the 'Toledo Strip'. Once this was resolved, Congress approved Michigan's entry into the Union was approved on January 26th, 1837.

The capital was moved to Lansing in 1847.

Answer: Florida

Florida began as Spanish-held territory until 1763, when Spain gave it up to Britain in exchange for British-occupied Havana following the Seven Years' War. The British divided the region into East and West Florida and began moving settlers their to occupy the land left by the departing Spanish population. This lasted until the British lost the Revolutionary War, after which the Spanish reclaimed Florida.

Nearly 40 years later, after the U.S. began pushing troops and settlers across the vague Florida border, Spain ceded the peninsula to the United States through the Adams-Onís Treaty of 1821. The next year, Congress merged East and West Florida into the Territory of Florida, and Tallahassee was named the territory's capital in 1824.

On March 3rd, 1845, Florida was accepted into the Union as a slave state.

Answer: Texas

Texas was born out of battle. It was part of the land claimed by Mexico in their War of Independence from Spain in 1821, but not long afterwards, Texians began to rebel against the Mexican government, culminating in the Texas Revolution of 1835. Mexico responded by an attempt to quell the rebellion (remember the Alamo?), and Texas declared its independence on March 2nd of 1836, while retreating from Santa Anna's forces. After Santa Anna was captured at the Battle of San Jacinto on April 21st, he was forced to sign the Treaties of Velasco, ending the war on May 14th.

Without the military means to defend itself against further incursions, the new Republic of Texas made attempts to join the United States through annexation, but were unable to do so until James Polk's 1844 election to the presidency. Texas became the 28th state on December 29th, 1845. It's present-day borders were set with the Compromise of 1850 (which ceded land to the northwest to the federal government).

Answer: Iowa

American settlers first began coming to the region of Iowa in 1833, and by 1838 it became the Territory of Iowa with a population of nearly 25,000. A movement towards statehood began almost immediately, and Iowa became the 29th U.S. state on December 28th, 1846 - a free state to try to balance the recently joined slave states of Florida and Texas.

Answer: Wisconsin

Wisconsin grew in leaps and bounds following the War of 1812 as prospects of mining and agriculture drew a large influx of settlers from New England and Europe. In 1836, Wisconsin officially became a territory, and the population grew from approximately 31,000 (non-natives) in 1840 to over 300,000 by the year 1850.

In the midst of that, on May 29th of 1848, Wisconsin became the 30th state to join the Union. Wisconsin's admission also had the effect of regaining a balance to the ratio of slave to free states, at 15 each.