When plotting a new story or book idea, one of the western
writer’s most important decisions is LOCATION. Will the story take place in the
high deserts of Arizona or New Mexico? The Front Range of Colorado? The rolling
plains of Wyoming? The geography can dictate the types of characters, weather,
architecture, landscape, and historical events you intend to include.
But wait a minute. Is it Arizona you’re writing about . . .
or Arizona Territory? Texas . . . or the Republic of Texas? The western
“states” straggled into the Union, a few at a time, between the years of 1845
(Texas) and 1959 (Alaska). To make things even more confusing, much of the
Midwest and some of the West once lay within the borders of the Louisiana
Purchase. As a native Louisianian, I like to rib my Texas and Alaskan friends
that my state was biggest, once upon a time. And what do you know? My current
home state of Tennessee was once called the Southwest Territory!
The period of American history known as “the Wild West”
lasted roughly thirty years . . . from 1865 to 1895. Several western states
were admitted to the Union in the very late 1800s: North and South Dakota,
Montana, and Washington (1889), Idaho and Wyoming (1890), and Utah (1896). It
wasn’t until the 1900s that the United States admitted Oklahoma (1907), New
Mexico and Arizona (1912), and Alaska (1959).
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| Advertisement for anti-slavery meeting |
For some states, the journey to statehood came with great difficulty
and sacrifice. The
Kansas-Nebraska Act which became law on May 30, 1854, established Nebraska
Territory and Kansas Territory. The region was attractive to both the slave and
free states, where tensions were building to a fever pitch. Settlers from both sides
began pouring into Kansas, hoping to swing the vote when Kansas citizens decided
where their loyalties lay. When the so-called “Border Ruffians” from Missouri arrived
(planning to stuff the ballot boxes with pro-slavery votes), a period of
extensive violence began, lasting until 1858. At the end of these “Bleeding
Kansas” years, the Wyandotte Constitution was adopted, assuring the
anti-slavery status of the future state of Kansas.
Oklahoma
is another state with an eventful history leading up to its statehood. Always a Native American stronghold, the U.S. government’s relocation of
several tribes to this region created an expansive “Indian Territory” adjoining Oklahoma
Territory. The tribes agreed to let the government open up “Unassigned Lands”
for settlement in 1899. As discussions of statehood escalated, executive
officers of the “Five Civilized Tribes” proposed that Indian Territory be name
the new state of “Sequoyah,” separate from Oklahoma Territory. However, the
U.S. government ultimately decided to combine both territories and President
Teddy Roosevelt signed a proclamation naming “Oklahoma” as the nation’s 46th
state in 1907.
Of course, every state has its own unique and fascinating
history. Fiction writers can develop plotlines and characters that correspond
with those historic events, making for a more authentic experience for readers.
For the research convenience of those writers, here’s a list of all fifty
states, along with their dates of admission to the Union, year of first
settlement, and former territorial names.
State
|
Entered Union
|
Year Settled Formed from:
|
Delaware
|
Dec. 7, 1787
|
1638 Colony of Delaware
|
Pennsylvania
|
Dec. 12, 1787
|
1682 Proprietary Province of
Pennsylvania
|
New Jersey
|
Dec. 18, 1787
|
1660 Crown Colony of New Jersey
|
Georgia
|
Jan. 2, 1788
|
1733 Crown Colony of Georgia
|
Connecticut
|
Jan. 9, 1788
|
1634 Crown Colony of Connecticut
|
Massachusetts
|
Feb. 6, 1788
|
1620 Crown Colony of Massachusetts
Bay
|
Maryland
|
Apr. 28, 1788
|
1634 Proprietary Province of
Maryland
|
South Carolina
|
May 23, 1788
|
1670 Crown Colony of South
Carolina
|
New Hampshire
|
June 21, 1788
|
1623 Crown Colony of New
Hampshire
|
Virginia
|
June 25, 1788
|
1607 Crown Colony; Dominion of
Virginia
|
New York
|
July 26, 1788
|
1614 Crown Colony of New York
|
North Carolina
|
Nov. 21, 1789
|
1660 Crown Colony of North
Carolina
|
Rhode Island
|
May 29, 1790
|
1636 Crown Colony of Rhode Island
|
Vermont
|
Mar. 4, 1791
|
1724 Vermont Republic
|
Kentucky
|
June 1, 1792
|
1774 Virginia; District of
Kentucky (part)
|
Tennessee
|
June 1, 1796
|
1769 Southwest Territory
|
Ohio
|
Mar. 1, 1803
|
1788 Northwest Territory (part)
|
Louisiana
|
Apr. 30, 1812
|
1699 Territory of Orleans
|
Indiana
|
Dec. 11, 1816
|
1733 Indiana Territory
|
Mississippi
|
Dec. 10, 1817
|
1699 Mississippi Territory
|
Illinois
|
Dec. 3, 1818
|
1720 Illinois Territory (part)
|
Alabama
|
Dec. 14, 1819
|
1702 Alabama Territory
|
Maine
|
Mar. 15, 1820
|
1624 Massachusetts; District of
Maine
|
Missouri
|
Aug. 10, 1821
|
1735 Missouri Territory (part)
|
Arkansas
|
June 15, 1836
|
1686 Arkansas Territory
|
Michigan
|
Jan. 26, 1837
|
1668 Michigan Territory
|
Florida
|
Mar. 3, 1845
|
1565 Florida Territory
|
Texas
|
Dec. 29, 1845
|
1682 Republic of Texas
|
Iowa
|
Dec. 28, 1846
|
1788 Iowa Territory (part)
|
Wisconsin
|
May 29, 1848
|
1766 Wisconsin Territory (part)
|
California
|
Sept. 9, 1850
|
1769 Unorganized territory
(part); California Republic
|
Minnesota
|
May 11, 1858
|
1805 Minnesota Territory
|
Oregon
|
Feb. 14, 1859
|
1811 Oregon Territory (part)
|
Kansas
|
Jan. 29, 1861
|
1727 Kansas Territory (part)
|
West Virginia
|
June 20, 1863
|
1727 Virginia (Trans-Allegheny
region)
|
Nevada
|
Oct. 31, 1864
|
1849 Nevada Territory
|
Nebraska
|
Mar. 1, 1867
|
1823 Nebraska Territory
|
Colorado
|
Aug. 1, 1876
|
1858 Colorado Territory
|
North Dakota
|
Nov. 2, 1889
|
1812 Dakota Territory (part)
|
South Dakota
|
Nov. 2, 1889
|
1859 Dakota Territory (part)
|
Montana
|
Nov. 8, 1889
|
1809 Montana Territory
|
Washington
|
Nov. 11, 1889
|
1811 Washington Territory
|
Idaho
|
July 3, 1890
|
1842 Idaho Territory
|
Wyoming
|
July 10, 1890
|
1834 Wyoming Territory
|
Utah
|
Jan. 4, 1896
|
1847 Utah Territory
|
Oklahoma
|
Nov. 16, 1907
|
1889 Oklahoma Territory &
Indian Territory
|
New Mexico
|
Jan. 6, 1912
|
1610 New Mexico Territory
|
Arizona
|
Feb. 14, 1912
|
1776 Arizona Territory
|
Alaska
|
Jan. 3, 1959
|
1784 Territory of Alaska
|
Hawaii
|
Aug. 21, 1959
|
1820 Territory of Hawaii;
Republic of Hawaii;
Kingdom of Hawai’i
|
VonnMcKee
“Writing the Range”
2015 Western Fictioneers Peacemaker Award Finalist (Short Fiction)
2015 WWA Spur Award Finalist (Short Fiction)
2015 Western Fictioneers Peacemaker Award Finalist (Short Fiction)
2015 WWA Spur Award Finalist (Short Fiction)
Website vonnmckee.com
From WOLFPACK PUBLISHING
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I always enjoy your informative and well-written essays, Vonn. Keep 'em coming!
ReplyDeleteWhy, many thanks, Pete! At least, blog posts give me an excuse to ramble on about some of my favorite topics. Thanks for stopping by.
ReplyDeleteThat's good info. I'm saving it for future use. Thanks for posting.
ReplyDeleteGlad to be of service, Jerry!
DeleteExcellent information, Vonn. I particularly enjoyed it because of a family connection. My grandfather used to say that he "was born outside the U.S., never came to the U.S., but left the U.S. and never returned." This was true because he was born in 1900 in Indian Territory. Upon statehood, the family moved, by covered wagon, to New Mexico Territory where he grew to adulthood, but he stumped a lot of folks with his riddle.
ReplyDeleteWhat a WONDERFUL story! The way with words must run in the family. Thanks for sharing that, Dennis.
DeleteGood article,Vonn. I've log been interested in state histories before they became states. I mentioned something related to that in a couple of my books when the protag observes the 38-star US flag and in another book she sees a 46-star flag.
ReplyDeleteI perused the historical progression of the U.S. flag's design while I was researching this blog. I loved the various star patterns, correlating to the number of states. Thanks, Gordo.
DeleteAs you say, each state had its rocky road to statehood. It's the tricky between years that can throw a writer, hence the need for study and research. Thanks for the additional information. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Doris
ReplyDeleteAs if we don't have enough on our minds, right? Thanks for stopping by, Doris.
DeleteExcellent post, as always, Vonn! Growing up here in Oklahoma, I can honestly say that our schools did not do justice to the rich history we could have studied about our own home state. Most of what I know about Oklahoma history, I learned in college and independent reading. By the time my kids got to school, it was even worse. So much history of all of our states that could be taught and made interesting but seems to just get lost. This is definitely a post that I will refer back to!
ReplyDeleteAlways nice to hear from the Boss Lady! Your home state does have an especially colorful history. I'd love to study it more myself. Perhaps you can recommend some resources...
DeleteLoved your post, Vonn. Before it was a republic, Texas switched back and forth from one Indian tribe to another, to the French and Spanish on to the Mexican. When I told a woman at the WWA convention in Wyoming that a section of it once technically belonged to Texas, she grew irate. Because of required government tests that take up, or waste, so much time, it is a fight to keep Texas history being taught in our schools, but so far, we are hanging on. Thank you for reminding us to be careful of our time period.
ReplyDeleteMaybe we need to do fifty blog posts: one for each state. You're right–Texas has a long and eventful history. My home state of Louisiana switched flags pretty often too.
DeleteGreat post, Vonn. A fantastic resource for all. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Tom. I refer to many of your blogs when researching!
DeleteAll the best, VM
Thank you for history review on the States.
ReplyDeleteWell, it's nothing you couldn't have all found on your own, but it's in one place, at least! Thanks for stopping by, Julie.
DeleteLate to the party! I copied and pasted and printed your research for further reference! Thanks, Vonn McKee.
ReplyDeleteYou are most welcome, Charlie! Good to hear from you.
Delete