What was the first state to enter the U.S. after the original thirteen?

While the original thirteen colonies were busy forming a new nation, the territory that would become the Green Mountain State was carving out its own path. For 14 years, from 1777 to 1791, it existed as the independent Vermont Republic. This unusual status was the result of a complex land dispute. Both New York and New Hampshire claimed the region, then known as the New Hampshire Grants, and the settlers there, led by figures like Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys, resisted control from both sides.

During its period of sovereignty, the Vermont Republic functioned as a separate nation. It issued its own currency, operated a postal service, and adopted a revolutionary constitution. In fact, its 1777 constitution was the first in North America to ban adult slavery, a remarkably progressive step for the era. This fierce independence defined its character and delayed its entry into the newly formed United States.

After the U.S. Constitution was ratified, a clear process for admitting new states was established. Vermont settled its land dispute by paying New York $30,000 and formally petitioned for statehood. It was officially admitted to the Union on March 4, 1791. Its admission as a free state was also politically strategic, serving to balance the impending admission of Kentucky as a slave state the following year.