Arizona states of Sonora and Baja California. Arizona is the 48th state and last of the contiguous states to be admitted to the Union, achieving statehood on February 14, 1912, coinciding with Valentine's Day. Historically part of the territory of "Alta California" in New Spain, it became part of independent Mexico in 1821. After being defeated in the Mexican–American War, Mexico ceded much of this territory to the United States in 1848. The southernmost portion of the state was acquired in 1853 through the Gadsden Purchase. Southern Arizona is known for its desert climate, with very hot summers and mild winters.
State of the Union of this "State of the Union Clause" of the Constitution is not specific, since the 1930s, the President makes this report annually in late January or early February. Between 1934 and 2013 the date has been as early as January 3, and as late as February 12. While not required to deliver a speech, every president since Woodrow Wilson, with the notable exception of Herbert Hoover, has made at least one State of the Union report as a speech delivered before a joint session of Congress. Before that time, most presidents delivered the State of the Union as a written