Territories to Statehood, the West: Topics in Chronicling America
From 1890 to 1907, the Wyoming, Utah and Okalahoma territories joined the union as new states. This guide provides access to materials related to the "West Territories to Statehood" in the Chronicling America digital collection of historic newspapers.
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About Chronicling America
Chronicling America is a searchable digital collection of historic newspaper pages through 1963 sponsored jointly by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress.
Also, see the Directory of U.S. Newspapers in American Libraries, a searchable index to newspapers published in the United States since 1690, which helps researchers identify what titles exist for a specific place and time, and how to access them.
Introduction
Referred to as "the land of fertility and progress," Oklahoma enters into statehood November 16, 1907, becoming the country's 46th state. Two other western territories preceded Oklahoma's statehood, with Wyoming joining the Union on July 10, 1890, and Utah being admitted on January 4, 1896. Read more about it!
The information in this guide focuses on primary source materials found in the digitized historic newspapers from the digital collection Chronicling America.
The timeline below highlights important dates related to this topic and a section of this guide provides some suggested search strategies for further research in the collection.
Timeline
July 10, 1890
President Benjamin Harrison signs Wyoming's statehood bill allowing Wyoming to join the Union as the 44th state.
January 4, 1896
Utah admitted to the Union as the 45th state.
November 16, 1907
Oklahoma is voted into statehood. President Theodore Roosevelt issued Presidential Proclamation no. 780, establishing Oklahoma as the 46th state in the Union.