American states are territorial-administrative units within the United States with their own laws and features, which have a fairly serious level of sovereignty, but obey the general constitution. Their number has increased throughout American history. So how many are there now?
The United States of America is a fairly young state by historical standards, which began its journey as an alliance of British, Spanish, French colonies. Today it is perhaps the most powerful country in the world, almost single-handedly determining the development path of many countries.
The federal structure of America includes exactly 50 states and the District of Columbia, where the capital of the state is located. There are also freely dependent US-dependent territories that have not yet received official “regular” status, but it is quite possible that this will someday happen. But so far, all the rumors that the US 51, 52 or 53 states are just idle speculation.
A bit of history
The United States was formed back in 1776, when thirteen British colonies decided to defend their independence and began a war with England under the leadership of George Washington.
In 1786, the war was over, and the colonies announced the creation of a new state, proclaiming their own constitution. And in 1791, in the District of Columbia, which included Alexandria and Georgetown, the city was founded, the only American of all named after the president - the first leader of the young state, George Washington. By the way, this city has nothing to do with the state of Washington.
Initially, in 1787-88, the United States included Delaware, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, New Jersey, Georgia, New Hampshire, South and North Carolina, Massachusetts, Maryland, Virginia, New York and Rhode Island. That is, those same 13 colonies that fought for their independence from Britain. In 1792, part of the territory, called Kentucky, became another state and peacefully separated from Virginia. Until the beginning of the 19th century, the United States included Tennessee and Vermont, previously located in disputed territories.
Most of the remaining states became part of the state during the 19th century, and each of them had its own history. Some of them are colonies that proclaimed independence and merged into the union of the American states, other lands were simply bought, such as Alaska.
During the Civil War (1861-1865), some southern slaveholding territories broke away, forming a new state called the Confederate States of America. It was the time of the Ku Klux Klan, the elimination of slavery, the assassination of Lincoln, the advent of the laws of Jim Crow, the adoption of the 13th amendment to the Constitution and many other high-profile historical events and phenomena.
Having suffered a defeat, the KSA ceased to exist, and the states were gradually reintegrated into the United States. The process of "return" took many years and was called "Reconstruction of the South."
Twentieth Century
Oklahoma, a disputed dependent territory inhabited by Indians, received the status of a state only in 1907. This state has a complicated history - Spain and France claimed the land inhabited by Native Americans, until in 1803 Napoleon sold the territory to the United States. Three decades later, according to the law on the resettlement of Indians, indigenous people from all over the country were brought, which led to the civil war of the Indians and the death of many of them.
In 1912, two more territories joined, Arizona and New Mexico, two of the four-corner states located in the south-west of the state.
The name "Four Corners" is associated with Four Corners - a monument that was erected during the Civil War, dividing the borders of four territories, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah.
Alaska, which is the largest administrative unit in the country, but does not border any other state, received the status of a state only in 1959. Until 1867, Alaska was part of the Russian empire, but after the events of the Crimean War, Alexander II thought about selling these lands, which remained unprotected in wars. March 30, 1867 in Washington, the signing of an agreement on the sale of Alaska to the United States. The young state needed new lands for development and resources for development, and Russia received 7.2 million dollars.
Soon, gold was discovered in Alaska and the Klondike gold rush began, beautifully described in the books of American classics, for example, Jack London. The development of mines brought the US government only during the "fever" of about 14 billion dollars.
Alaska became a state in 1959, along with the accession to the United States of another, so far the last territory - Hawaii. This territory also has a rather unusual story. The last queen of the Liliuokalani Islands in 1893 was overthrown by US troops under the pretext of protecting American private property. Hawaii became a republic, and in 1989 the United States was annexed. The ousted queen, now bearing the official name of Lydia Dominis, was granted a life pension and one sugar plantation was left. In the prison, where she spent several years after the coup, Lydia wrote the Hawaii anthem, known today as Aloha ʻoe.
Throughout the first half of the 20th century, Hawaii did not abandon attempts to become another state in the country that ruled them, but did not give the opportunity to independently elect a governor, participate in presidential elections, and vote in Congress. Locals were not happy with these restrictions. After the Second World War, when it was Hawaii that took the first blow and proved their loyalty to the United States, the problem moved off the ground. True, the process of creating the necessary conditions for obtaining the status of a state took almost 15 years.
So, it was in 1959 that the USA map was finally formed, which we still know today - a state consisting of fifty states, ruled by a bicameral Congress and president.
Subordinate Territories
These are territories controlled by the United States but not part of the state or county of the country. For example, the unpopulated Palmyra Atoll, located south of Hawaii, where today only a few activists from a private conservation organization live, came under US jurisdiction only in 1912. During World War II, Atoll islands were used as a US Air Force military base.
Some of these territories are part of the United States administratively, but they do not have enough population for state status. These are Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands - the island of Guam, inhabited by the Chamorro tribe, and the Northern Mariana Islands, as well as the Virgin Islands.
In addition to these lands subordinate to the USA, there are others, for example, rented for some purposes from other countries. Management on them depends on the specific conditions of the contract.
