| # | State | What it was |
| 1 | Delaware | Overseas province of Great Britain, then independent state until ratification of U.S. Constitution |
| 2 | Pennsylvania | Overseas province of Great Britain, then independent state until ratification of U.S. Constitution |
| 3 | New Jersey | Overseas province of Great Britain, then independent state until ratification of U.S. Constitution |
| 4 | Georgia | Overseas province of Great Britain, then independent state until ratification of U.S. Constitution |
| 5 | Connecticut | Overseas province of Great Britain, then independent state until ratification of U.S. Constitution |
| 6 | Massachusetts | Overseas province of Great Britain, then independent state until ratification of U.S. Constitution |
| 7 | Maryland | Overseas province of Great Britain, then independent state until ratification of U.S. Constitution |
| 8 | South Carolina | Overseas province of Great Britain, then independent state until ratification of U.S. Constitution |
| 9 | New Hampshire | Overseas province of Great Britain, then independent state until ratification of U.S. Constitution |
| 10 | Virginia | Overseas province of Great Britain, then independent state until ratification of U.S. Constitution |
| 11 | New York | Overseas province of Great Britain, then independent state until ratification of U.S. Constitution |
| 12 | North Carolina | Overseas province of Great Britain, then independent state until ratification of U.S. Constitution |
| 13 | Rhode Island | Overseas province of Great Britain, then independent state until ratification of U.S. Constitution |
| 14 | Vermont | Unrecognized Vermont Republic, then separated from New York in 1791 |
| 15 | Kentucky | Separated from Virginia in 1792 |
| 23 | Maine | Separated from Massachusetts in 1820 |
| 28 | Texas | It was Mexico, and then Independent Republic of Texas from 1836 to annexation in 1845 |
| 31 | California | California was Mexico, and then unrecognized Bear Flag Republic and ambiguous status under U.S. military rule to admission as state in 1850. (Congressional legislation organizing a California territory failed in 1849.) |
| 35 | West Virginia | Pro-Union counties separated from Virginia in 1863 |