Western Statehood

28 Texas December 29, 1845

Texas was an independent Republic prior to Statehood (independence from Mexico declared, 2 March 1836) and, thus, never constituted a U.S. Territory
29 Iowa December 28, 1846

Made a territory 12 June 1838; effective, 3 July 1838; previously, part of Wisconsin Territory.
30 Wisconsin May 29, 1848
31 California September 9, 1850

Ceded by Mexico by the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, concluded Feb. 2, 1848, and proclaimed July 4, 1848. From then until statehood, California had a military government until Dec. 20, 1849, and then a local civil government. It never had a territorial form of government; a bill to make California such a Territory failed of passage in Congress
32 Minnesota May 11, 1858
33 Oregon February 14, 1859

Made a territory 14 August 1848; was
previously, the unorganized so-called "Oregon Country" formally annexed by the United States via Treaty with Great Britain, 15 June 1846
34 Kansas January 29, 1861

Made a territory 30 May 1854; previously, part of the unorganized so-called "Indian country" of old Missouri Territory left over from when Missouri had been admitted as a State back in 1821
35 West Virginia June 20, 1863
36 Nevada October 31, 1864

 Made a territory 2 March 1861;  previously, part of Utah Territory.
37 Nebraska March 1, 1867

Made a territory 30 May 1854; previously, part of the unorganized so-called "Indian country" of old Missouri Territory left over from when Missouri had been admitted as a State back in 1821.
38 Colorado August 1, 1876

Made a territory 28 February 1861; carved from portions of Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico and Utah Territories.
39 North Dakota November 2, 1889

Was part of Dakota Territory before statehood. Admitted on same day as South Dakota
40 South Dakota November 2, 1889

Dakota Territory was created 2 March 1861; from what had previously been part of Nebraska Territory
41 Montana November 8, 1889

Made a territory 26 May 1864; previously, part of Idaho Territory.
42 Washington November 11, 1889

Made a territory 2 March 1853; previously, part of Oregon Territory
43 Idaho July 3, 1890

Made a territory 3 March 1863; carved out of Dakota and Washington Territories
44 Wyoming July 10, 1890

Made a territory 25 July 1868;
previously, part of Dakota Territory
45 Utah January 4, 1896

Made a territory 9 September 1850; created from the Mexican Cession to the United States of 1848 and a small strip of territory ceded to the United States by the State of Texas
46 Oklahoma November 16, 1907

The state was formed from Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory. Indian Territory had been organized on 30 June 1834 from what had been an unorganized portion of Arkansas Territory.
47 New Mexico January 6, 1912

Made a territory 9 September 1850; created out of the Mexican Cession to the United States of 1848 and territory ceded to the United States by the State of Texas
48 Arizona February 14, 1912

This region was sometimes called Arizona before 1863, although it was still in the Territory of New Mexico.
49 Alaska January 3, 1959

It became an organized territory Aug. 24, 1912. August 1912;  previously, the "District" of Alaska as of 17 May 1884; originally formally annexed by the United States via Treaty with the Russian Empire, 30 March 1867
50 Hawaii August 21, 1959

The Hawaiian Islands were an independent Kingdom until 1893 and an ostensibly independent Republic under American protection from 1893 till 1898. They were formally annexed by the United States of America, 7 July 1898. Organized as a territory 30 April 1900, with Sanford B. Dole, who had forced the abdication of Queen Liliokalani, as Governor.

(See: http://www.thegreenpapers.com/slg/statehood.phtml)

The territories of Guam, the United States Virgin Islands, and American Samoa, and the Commonwealths of Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands are the principal overseas dependencies of the United States.  All are islands (or groups of islands), and each is economically less developed than any State of the United States.

During initial years as U.S. territories, the Secretary of the Interior exercised broad administrative authority in all the insular areas. Chief executives of the insular governments were appointees of the President or the Secretary and the Secretary had the legal authority to supervise and give binding directions to them.

However, this is no longer the case. Popularly elected legislatures (Guam-1950, USVI-1954, American Samoa-1961, and the CNMI-1979) and governors (Guam and USVI 1971, American Samoa 1978, the CNMI, 1979) were established. Each of the U.S. insular areas has become responsible for the administration of local government functions. Although the Congress has placed with the Secretary, certain continuing budget and program coordination authority and responsibility concerning U.S. insular affairs, the local governments are not entities of the Department, nor are they agencies or instrumentalities of the Federal Government.