Alaska Statehood Movement

The Alaska statehood movement was the decades-long effort to make Alaska the 49th U.S. state. It began with the first statehood bill introduced by Delegate James Wickersham in 1916 and ended with the proclamation of statehood on January 3, 1959, after a 1956 constitutional convention, a shadow congressional delegation and Senate approval on June 30, 1958 [1].

Territorial Background

Alaska was organized as a territory with a legislature by the Second Organic Act of 1912. In 1916 Delegate James Wickersham introduced the first statehood bill in Congress [1].

The Postwar Push

In 1945 Edward Lewis “Bob” Bartlett was elected territorial delegate. A successful territorial referendum in 1946 led to the Alaska Statehood Association, and President Truman called for statehood in his State of the Union message. Bartlett introduced a statehood bill in 1948, and the Alaska Statehood Committee was formed in 1949. A statehood bill passed the House in early 1950 but was killed in the Senate [1].

Operation Statehood

Senate hearings in Alaska in 1953 sparked the Operation Statehood movement. A 1954 commonwealth proposal followed, which Alaskans opposed because it would have imposed federal income taxes without statehood benefits [1].

Opposition

A coalition of conservative Republicans and southern Democrats killed the 1950 House-passed bill in the Senate, and Republicans feared Democrats would make up Alaska’s first congressional delegation [1].

Constitution and the Tennessee Plan

The territorial legislature called for a constitutional convention in January 1955, and the convention opened in November at the University of Alaska, where Governor Ernest Gruening gave the keynote address. In 1956 Alaskans approved the constitution and the Alaska-Tennessee Plan, electing Senate and House delegates who went to Washington in 1957 but were not seated [1][2]. See the entry on the Alaska Constitutional Convention.

Success in 1958

In 1958 President Eisenhower endorsed statehood in his State of the Union address. The House approved the bill in May, partly credited to public support spurred by Edna Ferber’s novel Ice Palace, and the Senate approved it on June 30. Alaskan voters then approved statehood in a referendum [1]. Bartlett persuaded House Speaker Sam Rayburn to support the bill, and Lyndon B. Johnson supported it in the Senate [1].

Proclamation

Eisenhower signed the proclamation making Alaska the 49th state on January 3, 1959 [1]. See the entries on the Alaska Statehood Act, Ernest Gruening and James Wickersham.

FAQs

When did Alaska become a state? January 3, 1959.

Who introduced the first statehood bill? James Wickersham, in 1916.

What was the Tennessee Plan? A 1956 plan in which Alaskans elected a shadow congressional delegation to press for admission.

Who was Bob Bartlett? Territorial delegate who led statehood legislation in Congress.

When did the Senate approve statehood? June 30, 1958.

Sources

1. EBSCO Research Starters: Alaska statehood
2. Wikipedia: Ernest Gruening

Editorially reviewed by Specialty Digest Editorial TeamLast reviewed November 12, 2026Researched and drafted with AI assistanceReport an issue