THE MAKING OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
When and how the states came to be
THE LAST TWO CAME IN 1959
Reprinted with permission of Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services
AND FINALLY...
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49 Alaska Admitted: January 3, 1959 Population: 211,000 Prior time as territory: 47 years Journey to statehood: Began with first application for admission in 1916 -- four years after the area attained territorial status and 49 years after it was purchased from Russia. For several decades, opposition centered on small population and remoteness from other states. Residents approved statehood in a 1946 referendum, but efforts to convince Congress fell flat. Alaska finally succeeded with the Tennessee plan -- electing senators and representatives without congressional approval -- and the support of President Dwight Eisenhower. |
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50 Hawaii Admitted: August 21, 1959 Population: 595,000 Prior time as territory: 59 years Journey to statehood: Delayed by World War II after getting a boost from a 1940 plebiscite that showed residents supported statehood 2-to-1. The 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor fueled racist concerns about the loyalty of the islands' Japanese and Chinese population. After the war, Democrats in Congress held predominantly Republican Hawaii at bay until predominantly Democratic Alaska was admitted. |
NOTE: Population is at time of entry into the Union. Date of admission reflects the effective date of each state's admission, rather than the date of congressional passage. While the dates are the same in some cases, such as Florida's, the effective date typically followed the date of passage by several months.
SOURCE: Knight-Ridder Tribune (1993)
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Posted by:
Bennie J. McRae, Jr. |
Trotwood, Ohio