Six months after the congress of the Republic of Texas
accepts U.S. annexation, Texas was admitted into the
United States as the 28th state.

After gaining independence from Spain in the 1820s,
Mexico welcomed foreign settlers to sparsely populated
Texas, and a large group of Americans led by Stephen F.
Austin settled along the Brazos River.

In March 1836, in the midst of armed conflict with the
Mexican government, Texas declared its independence
from Mexico.

The modern United States received its crowning star when
President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a proclamation
admitting (Native spelling: Hawai‘i) into the Union as the
50th state on this day in 1959.

The state of Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890. 

On January 6, 1912, New Mexico was admitted into
the United States as the 47th state.

Spanish explorers passed through the area that would
become New Mexico in the early 16th century, they
encountered the well-preserved remains of a 13th-
century Pueblo civilization. Exaggerated rumors about
the hidden riches of these Pueblo cities encouraged the
first full-scale Spanish expedition into New Mexico, led
by Francisco Vasquez de Coronado in 1540. Instead of
encountering the long-departed Pueblo people, the
Spanish explorers met other Indigenous groups, like
the Apaches, who were fiercely resistant to the early
Spanish missions and ranches in the area.

Francisco Vázquez de Coronado
(1510 – 22 September 1554)

Illinois achieved full statehood on this day. Though Illinois
presented unique challenges to immigrants unaccustomed
to the soil and vegetation of the area, it grew to become a
bustling and densely populated state.