Was there 52 states of America?

As the United States does not allow for the secession of a state once it enters the Union (that is, once joined, a state can never legally leave), and the current count of states is 50, there has never been 52 states.

That is, it is legally impossible for more states to have once been part of the United States than the current count of states, at any given point in history. (Note: that even during the US Civil War, the Union side considered the Confederate side to NOT have legally left the Union, so that there was no reduction in the number of states still legally part of the United States).