Hawaii became the 50th and final U.S. state in 1959.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Hawaii Admission Act, and Hawaii entered the Union on August 21, 1959. Its admission followed Alaska’s statehood earlier that year, completing the current 50-state map of the United States.
Hawaii is an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean. It became a U.S. territory in 1898 after annexation and remained a territory for six decades before statehood. A statehood referendum held in June 1959 produced an overwhelming vote in favor of admission, although the ballot offered statehood rather than a return to an independent kingdom.
Hawaii’s position as the final state is distinct from its status as the only U.S. state made entirely of islands. It is also the only state located in the tropics and the only state outside North America’s mainland. The statehood anniversary is one of the milestones leading toward America250.