State of Georgia

The last statement in the Declaration of Independence, signed on July 4, 1776, is "these United Colonies are...Free and Independent States." At that time, however, the word "state" was equivalent to the word "nation". Later, on January 2, 1788, Georgia ratified the Federal constitution, and thus became the fourth state in the new nation of the United States of America. Georgia was also the third state to ratify the Federal constitution unanimously.