Fifty for 150: Local boosters and ‘party trickery’ secured statehood for Colorado in 1876

Colorado may have always been destined to attain statehood, but it owes its identity as the Centennial State to the partisan political interests of the Reconstruction-era Republican Party. The timing of Colorado’s admission into the union in 1876, weeks after the celebration of the nation’s centenary and just ahead of that year’s pivotal presidenti

By: Chase Woodruff

Outlets: Colorado Newsline

Published: August 1, 2026

Words: 849

Last Updated: 2 days, 10 hours ago

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Colorado may have always been destined to attain statehood, but it owes its identity as the Centennial State to the partisan political interests of the Reconstruction-era Republican Party.

This story is part of Colorado at 150. Each Fifty for 150 story focuses on an event that helped define Colorado over 150 years of statehood. This is the final Fifty for 150 story. A collection of all 50 of them can …

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