The hardest thing for me to keep track of is exact
dates. It least I can remember July 4, 1776, beyond that I'd better have a list
someplace. So I thought I'd share one of my lists with all of you. Besides if I'm not
writing, I'm probably reading. And I'll be honest; I can get so confused so
quickly if I can't remember certain dates. I was one of those kids who couldn't remember most of this stuff
anyway. Give me something about the way they lived and I could snap that into
my brain's storage files faster than Jack Sprat could jump that candle stick.
Give me a date and I couldn't remember it long enough to write it down! I
haven't improved one iota over the years. In fact, I've managed to get the
birth dates of the grandchildren mixed up. (Oh was I in trouble when I did that!)
Keeping lists is important to me otherwise I can
screw up even a poem that is supposed to help us remember. In 1642 Columbus
sailed the ocean blue. That's totally wrong. I have to look it up each
time! It's 1492. I remembered the one, four, and two! Do I get credit
for anything? (And why are we celebrating Columbus? Never mind, that's a whole
different time in history and a whole different story.) So I keep timelines on
my computer and Wikipedia has a very comprehensive one. I figured I'd share
with you the one that I use frequently now that I'm writing about American
history. The dates are when the states were admitted or ratified. That's why the gap
between the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the formation of the
first 13 states. I like this list because it tells which piece of land became
which state.
|
State
|
Order
|
Date
|
From
|
|
Delaware
|
1
|
December 7, 1787
|
Crown Colony of Delaware
|
|
Pennsylvania
|
2
|
December 12, 1787
|
Crown Colony of Pennsylvania
|
|
New Jersey
|
3
|
December 18, 1787
|
Crown Colony of New Jersey
|
|
Georgia
|
4
|
January 2, 1788
|
Crown Colony of Georgia
|
|
Connecticut
|
5
|
January 9, 1788
|
Crown Colony of Connecticut
|
|
Massachusetts
|
6
|
February 6, 1788
|
Crown Colony of Massachusetts Bay
|
|
Maryland
|
7
|
April 28, 1788
|
Crown Colony of Maryland
|
|
South Carolina
|
8
|
May 23, 1788
|
Crown Colony of South Carolina
|
|
New Hampshire
|
9
|
June 21, 1788
|
Crown Colony of New Hampshire
|
|
Virginia
|
10
|
June 25, 1788
|
Crown Colony of Virginia
|
|
New York
|
11
|
July 26, 1788
|
Crown Colony of New York
|
|
North Carolina
|
12
|
November 21, 1789
|
Crown Colony of North Carolina
|
|
Rhode Island
|
13
|
May 29, 1790
|
Crown Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
|
|
Vermont
|
14
|
March 4, 1791
|
Vermont Republic (AKA New Hampshire Grants)
|
|
Kentucky
|
15
|
June 1, 1792
|
Virginia (District of Kentucky: Fayette, Jefferson, and
Lincoln counties)
|
|
Tennessee
|
16
|
June 1, 1796
|
Southwest Territory
|
|
Ohio
|
17
|
March 1, 1803
|
Northwest Territory
|
|
Louisiana
|
18
|
April 30, 1812
|
Territory of Orleans
|
|
Indiana
|
19
|
December 11, 1816
|
Indiana Territory
|
|
Mississippi
|
20
|
December 10, 1817
|
Mississippi Territory
|
|
Illinois
|
21
|
December 3, 1818
|
Illinois Territory
|
|
Alabama
|
22
|
December 14, 1819
|
Alabama Territory
|
|
Maine
|
23
|
March 15, 1820
|
Massachusetts (District of Maine)
|
|
Missouri
|
24
|
August 10, 1821
|
Missouri Territory
|
|
Arkansas
|
25
|
June 15, 1836
|
Arkansas Territory
|
|
Michigan
|
26
|
January 26, 1837
|
Michigan Territory
|
|
Florida
|
27
|
March 3, 1845
|
Florida Territory
|
|
Texas
|
28
|
December 29, 1845
|
Republic of Texas
|
|
Iowa
|
29
|
December 28, 1846
|
Iowa Territory (part)
|
|
Wisconsin
|
30
|
May 29, 1848
|
Wisconsin Territory (part)
|
|
California
|
31
|
September 9, 1850
|
unorganized territory (part)
|
|
Minnesota
|
32
|
May 11, 1858
|
Minnesota Territory (part)
|
|
Oregon
|
33
|
February 14, 1859
|
Oregon Territory (part)
|
|
Kansas
|
34
|
January 29, 1861
|
Kansas Territory (part)
|
|
West Virginia
|
35
|
June 20, 1863
|
Virginia (Trans-Allegheny region counties
|
|
Nevada
|
36
|
October 31, 1864
|
Nevada Territory
|
|
Nebraska
|
37
|
March 1, 1867
|
Nebraska Territory
|
|
Colorado
|
38
|
August 1, 1876
|
Colorado Territory
|
|
North Dakota
|
39
|
November 2, 1889
|
Dakota Territory
|
|
South Dakota
|
40
|
November 2, 1889
|
Dakota Territory
|
|
Montana
|
41
|
November 8, 1889
|
Montana Territory
|
|
Washington
|
42
|
November 11, 1889
|
Washington Territory
|
|
Idaho
|
43
|
July 3, 1890
|
Idaho Territory
|
|
Wyoming
|
44
|
July 10, 1890
|
Wyoming Territory
|
|
Utah
|
45
|
January 4, 1896
|
Utah Territory
|
|
Oklahoma
|
46
|
November 16, 1907
|
Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory
|
|
New Mexico
|
47
|
January 6, 1912
|
New Mexico Territory
|
|
Arizona
|
48
|
February 14, 1912
|
Arizona Territory
|
|
Alaska
|
49
|
January 3, 1959
|
Territory of Alaska
|
|
Hawaii
|
50
|
August 21, 1959
|
Territory of Hawaii
|
Here are a few other
important dates:
Civil War
1861-1865
Begins at Fort Sumter, the
seaport of Charleston, SC, Ap 12, 1861
Ends when Lee surrenders to
Grant at Appomattox Court House, VA. May 13, 1865
Transcontinental RR
1863-1869
Started in 1863 and
completed May 10 1869
WWI
1914-1918
July 28,1914 - Nov 11, 1918
Great Depression
1929-1939
Stock Market crash
Oct 29,1929
Dust Bowl
1930 -1936
WWII
Sept 1, 1939-Sept 2,1945
Pearl Harbor
Dec 7,1941
Vietnam War
Nov1, 1955 - Ap 30, 1975
Hope these lists help you as you read and write about American history. They are far from complete because so many important things have happened. There no dates for the Wright brother's first flight or the first automobiles. I could have written fifty pages worth of important and interesting dates such as the death of Wild Bill Hickok, Lincoln's assassination, our presidents, the first telephones, or a gazillion other things. Instead I tried to just give a few of the bigger things along the way.
