State of the Union (31st-40th) Quiz

Answer: California

Over 200 years after the first European contact in the region, California began its colonial existence with the establishment of Spanish missions, forts, and some small towns in the mid-1700s. When the Mexican War of Independence was won in 1821, the northern province of Alta California was part of the new country. But the people were not happy with their situation, and a number of revolts occurred in the 1830s, none of which resulted in a successful independence from Mexico. In 1846, however, the Bear Flag Revolt led to the declaration of a new Republic of California. This state of affairs didn't last long.

The Mexican-American War (1846-48) resulted in the occupation of California by American forces by 1847, and at the end of the war, the whole region was ceded to the United States in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. California would remain under a military governor until it was granted statehood in the Compromise of 1850 as a Free State on September 9th. Before Sacramento was named the capital in 1854, San Jose (1850-1851), Vallejo (1852-1853), and Benicia (1853-1854) each held the title.

Answer: Minnesota

The land that makes up the state of Minnesota was originally claimed by the French in the mid-1600s for the fur trade, until it some of it was ceded to the British. The United States acquired that bit of Minnesota's territory from the British with the Treaty of Paris (1783) and the rest came under American control with the Louisiana Purchase of 1803.

Administratively, the territory of Minnesota was formed upon splitting from the territory of Iowa in 1849. Over the next few years, the population rose to about 150,000 and the territorial government applied for statehood in January of 1858. Due to political maneuverings with Kansas' application for statehood as a slave state, Minnesota's application did not go through until May 11th.

Answer: Oregon

European exploration of the West Coast began in the 16th century, and the region was visited by Lewis & Clark in the early 1800s, but the first 'permanent' settlement was established with Fort Astoria (the Astor Expedition of 1810-12). In subsequent year, the Oregon Trail was established as opportunities for the fur trade and commerce with the local indigenous population increased.

An initial localised government was formed in 1843, but the Polk administration annexed the region in 1844, creating the Oregon Territory. This caused a reigniting of the debate between the British and the Americans regarding the location of the border between their nations, and led directly to the 1846 Oregon Treaty, establishing the border on the 49th parallel.

After three votes against statehood over the next decade, but the vote to apply for entry to the Union was won in 1857. It took two years for Congress to accept the new state, but they finally did, with a narrow 114-103 vote.

Answer: Kansas

The story of Kansas' statehood was a troubled one. Most of the territory was included in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, but things became difficult with the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, which officially created the two territories and opened up the regions to settlement. Thus began the race to see if Kansas would become pro- or anti-slavery. This led to various armed conflicts and became known as "Bleeding Kansas". When the dust settled and Kansas joined the Union on January 29th of 1861, it was one of the "free" states.

But all of this was part of what led to the Civil War, and Kansas became the ground for a number of battles.

Answer: West Virginia

West Virginia was one of two states that joined the Union in the midst of the Civil War. When the government of the state of Virginia voted to secede from the Union, some problems arose. By some, the Ordinance of Secession was deemed illegal, as it had been born out of a Convention called by the legislature, rather than by "the people". So, this group formed the "Restored Government of Virginia" and quickly elected two Senators to go to Washington, and all of a sudden there were two governments of Virginia - one loyal to the Union, and one loyal to the Confederacy.

This 'new' government authorized the formation of the State of Kanawha on October 24th, 1861, although it was renamed to West Virginia a month later. In May of 1862, the newly formed state applied for entry to the Union, which was approved on December 31st of the same year, subject to a provision for the abolition of slavery being inserted into their constitution. This was ratified and West Virginia became the 35th state on June 20th, 1863.

Answer: Nevada

With the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, Mexico's claims on the region that would one day become Nevada were ceded to the United States. Inclusion of the region (then known as Washoe) into other existing states were attempted by various groups within the region (Mormons wanted it to become a county in the Utah Territory, while non-Mormons wanted annexation to the State of California), but it was Federal politics that led to the inclusion of Nevada into the Union.

Nevada was incorporated as a Territory in 1861 as the region saw a boom in the mining industry. Statehood came quite suddenly in 1864 as, just days before the Presidential election in November, the entire Utah constitution was telegraphed to Congress, allowing them to ratify Utah's entry to the Union on October 31st. This had the benefit of ensuring three electoral votes for Lincoln's reelection.

Answer: Nebraska

Nebraska's route to statehood was linked with that of Kansas, through the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, but it did not undergo the same level of strife as its neighbor to the south. The Nebraska Territory saw a large influx of settlers through the Homestead Act of 1862, and many others used Nebraska as the path to regions further west.

Sections of the larger Nebraska Territory were carved out when the Colorado and the Dakota Territories were formed in 1861 and when the Idaho Territory was formed in 1863.

After drawing up its constitution in 1866, the State of Nebraska's application to join the Union received approval in Congress on February 8th, 1867, subject to some provisions. President Johnson vetoed the bill, which was then overridden by a supermajority in both Houses of Congress, effective March 1st.

Answer: Colorado

The area that today makes up Colorado was 'held' by different hands over the years. The first Europeans to lay claim to the region were the Spanish, but then the land was included as part of the Louisiana Purchase, making it disputed territory. A few years later, Mexico declared its independence from Spain, and the United States subsequently ceded part of the territory to Mexico in the Adams-Onís Treaty of 1819. Then war broke out between Mexico and the U.S. in 1846, and the resultant Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ceded the region back to the U.S.

In 1861, President Buchanan signed the Act creating the Territory of Colorado, comprised of sections of the unorganized territories of Utah, Kansas, Nebraska and New Mexico. While statehood seemed imminent after this step, it took three efforts of the territorial government to successfully commit to application for entry to the Union, and then in 1865, President Johnson vetoed the bill. It wasn't until 1876 that Colorado finally gained admission to the Union under President Grant.

Answer: North Dakota

Born out the Louisiana Purchase the Dakota Territory was established in 1861, incorporating what is now both North and South Dakota. Because of increasing population and a dispute on where they wanted to locate the capital, when the Dakota Territory put forth its application for admittance to the Union, they put forward a split of North and South Dakota, with their own respective capitals.

Divided from one territory, the two new states were both formed on the same day, November 2nd, 1889.

So why is North Dakota listed before South Dakota in the order of states admitted to the Union?

Simply due to alphabetical order.

Answer: South Dakota

As discussed in the 'interesting info' for North Dakota, the State of South Dakota was created on the same date as North Dakota. President Harrison purposefully signed their Acts "in the blind" so as to ensure that no one would ever know which state technically was admitted first.