Hawaii became the 50th state of the United States in 1959.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Hawaii Admission Act on March 18, 1959, and Hawaii entered the Union on August 21, 1959. Its admission followed Alaska’s statehood earlier that year, making the two territories the final additions to the Union before the America250 era.
Hawaii is an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean. Its statehood changed the geographic character of the United States, extending the country far beyond the continental mainland. Honolulu, on the island of Oahu, is the state capital.
The admission of Hawaii also produced the current 50-star American flag. Hawaii’s statehood anniversary is often paired with Alaska’s when discussing the final stage of the United States’ expansion to its present number of states.