On July 7, 1958 President Eisenhower signed the Alaska Statehood Act

By SUZANNE DOWNING

July 7, 2026 – On this day in Alaska history, July 7, 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Alaska Statehood Act into law, setting the stage for Alaska to become America’s 49th state. It was the culmination of decades of effort by Alaskans who believed the vast northern territory deserved full representation and self-government after nearly half a century as a U.S. territory.

The legislation, HR 7999 (Public Law 85-508), had cleared the US House of Representatives on May 28, 1958, by a vote of 210-166 and passed the Senate on June 30 by a comfortable 64-20 margin. The measure had been introduced the previous year, but the push for statehood stretched back generations.

Among the leading champions of statehood were Alaska Delegate to Congress E. L. “Bob” Bartlett, Territorial Gov. Ernest Gruening, future Gov. Bill Egan, newspaper publisher Bob Atwood, and a young congressional aide named Ted Stevens, who would later become one of Alaska’s most influential political figures. Their campaign argued that Alaskans deserved voting representation in Congress and greater control over their own future.

Statehood was not automatic upon Eisenhower’s signature. The law required Alaskans themselves to approve its terms. In August 1958, voters overwhelmingly did just that, endorsing statehood and accepting the conditions of admission by roughly a six-to-one margin.

One of the most consequential provisions of the Statehood Act gave the new state the right to select approximately 103 million acres of federal land, part of a total entitlement of about 105 million acres, to help ensure Alaska’s long-term economic self-sufficiency. Those land selections would become the foundation of much of the state’s resource development, including timber, mining, oil, and other public lands.

Nearly six months after signing the legislation, Eisenhower signed the official proclamation admitting Alaska to the Union on Jan. 3, 1959. With that proclamation, the Last Frontier officially became the 49th state, ending 47 years as an organized U.S. territory.

Alaska’s admission also ushered in the brief era of the 49-star American flag. That version flew for just one year before Hawaii joined the Union as the 50th state in August 1959, prompting the creation of the familiar 50-star flag that remains in use today.

Looking back 68 years later, Eisenhower’s signature on July 7, 1958, remains one of the defining moments in Alaska history—transforming America’s largest territory into a full partner in the Union and laying the legal foundation for the state’s political and economic future.