No need to grab a map, it's time to learn the states in order of statehood. On Dec. 7, 1787 , Delaware became the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution, according to the Census Bureau.

July 4, 2012— -- intro: Independence Day is not all barbecue and fireworks. So we pause here for a bit of history, with the 13 original colonies in mind (in the order of their founding ...

Log-in to bookmark & organize content - it's free! U.S. Military Academy history professor Robert McDonald explained how the 13 original American colonies were settled and the differences between ...

The latest volume in the series of The Story of the Nations" is a creditable and valuable work. The two volumes have been prepared for the purpose of telling the story of the American Colonies in ...

All other colonies that wished to join the nascent nation would have to get approval from 9 of the U.S.’s 13 states. Canada, of course, never took the U.S. up on its offer. Still, the proposal ...

You'll see in a minute that King Charles I and II basically included shout-outs to their friends and family all over the 13 colonies. And New York is one of them.

Still, for people living in the 13 colonies—free or enslaved—the American Revolution changed life much less fundamentally. David K. Allison, curator emeritus, National Museum of American History.