If you were asked what America’s largest state by land size is, what would be your answer?
Reasonably, people often refer to Texas as huge, and Texas is, without a doubt, huge. If your guess was that Texas is the largest state, then you would be partially correct, but if your guess was Alaska, then you would also be partially correct. What if your answer was Delaware? Well, you would likely never guess Delaware as the largest state, but if you did, you would still be partially correct. How is this possible?
What if we go back to a time when the United States had forty-eight states, or twenty states, or even only one state; what would have been the largest state back then? This is the question that I recently stumbled upon, and this is the question that led me to this discovery, which I thought I would share!
Oddly enough, if you consider the United States as having no states until the ratification of its first state on December 7, 1787, the United States would have had only one state until another was ratified, and therefore only one state could have been the largest: Delaware. This small state, which is now merely the second smallest state, used to hold the title of largest state.
As time progressed, more states were added, ever shifting the title to new states. As of the last sixty years, there have been seven, potentially eight, states to hold the title, most of which have not held it for long.
Here is a list of the largest states by land size when compared to the other ratified or admitted states at the time, throughout the United States’ existence:
Delaware: 1787-1787 (5 days)
Delaware was strangely the largest state for several days, because it was the first state to be ratified, making it, by nature, the largest and smallest state; the sole state.
Pennsylvania: 1787-1788 (21 days)
Pennsylvania easily became the largest state for a few weeks after being ratified, since it was 23 times larger than Delaware, the previous largest state.
Georgia: 1788-1802 (14 years)
Georgia swiftly seized the title of largest state from Pennsylvania once Georgia was ratified and held the title longer than any other state yet.
Virginia: 1802-1821 (19 years)
Virginia became the next largest state after Georgia ceded the western half of its land to the Federal Government.
Missouri: 1821-1845 (24 years)
With Missouri’s admission into the Union, Virginia lost the title to the Show-Me State. Missouri held the title for the longest yet.
Michigan: 1837-1845 (9 years)
Michigan could technically be listed as the largest state for a time if you look at total area, including Michigan’s large claims in four Great Lakes. This would reduce Missouri to being the largest state for 15 years, not 24 years.
Texas: 1845-1959 (113 years)
Texas became the largest state for over a century, which is longer than any other state to this day. Texas lost the title to the second newest state in America.
Alaska: 1959-Present (63 years, as of 2022)
Alaska replaced Texas not too long ago, and is currently the largest state in America. Alaska is nearly two and a half times larger than Texas!
What is your favorite largest state from history?
Onward American 🇺🇸
Source: States by Order of Admission
Onward American 