Sunday, March 25, 2018

MIND YOUR STATES, AND DATES! by Vonn McKee



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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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



All the best,

VonnMcKee                                                                                          
“Writing the Range”
2015 Western Fictioneers Peacemaker Award Finalist (Short Fiction)
2015 WWA Spur Award Finalist (Short Fiction)


Website vonnmckee.com

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20 comments:

  1. I always enjoy your informative and well-written essays, Vonn. Keep 'em coming!

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  2. Why, many thanks, Pete! At least, blog posts give me an excuse to ramble on about some of my favorite topics. Thanks for stopping by.

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  3. That's good info. I'm saving it for future use. Thanks for posting.

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  4. Excellent 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.

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    1. What a WONDERFUL story! The way with words must run in the family. Thanks for sharing that, Dennis.

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  5. Good 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.

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    1. I 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.

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  6. As 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

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    1. As if we don't have enough on our minds, right? Thanks for stopping by, Doris.

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  7. Excellent 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!

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    1. Always 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...

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  8. Loved 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.

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    1. Maybe 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.

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  9. Great post, Vonn. A fantastic resource for all. Thanks.

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    1. Thanks, Tom. I refer to many of your blogs when researching!
      All the best, VM

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  10. Thank you for history review on the States.

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    1. Well, 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.

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  11. Late to the party! I copied and pasted and printed your research for further reference! Thanks, Vonn McKee.

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    1. You are most welcome, Charlie! Good to hear from you.

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