Hawaii became the 50th U.S. state in 1959, a major milestone in America's 250-year national story.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Hawaii Admission Act on March 18, 1959. Hawaii was admitted to the Union on August 21, 1959, following a referendum in which voters approved statehood. Its admission came after Alaska, which became the 49th state on January 3, 1959.
Hawaii is an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean. Its statehood expanded the United States far beyond the continental mainland and completed the familiar 50-state arrangement represented by the stars on the national flag. The islands had previously been an independent kingdom, a republic, a U.S. territory, and a territory from 1900 until statehood.
The state is sometimes confused with Alaska in questions about the final states admitted. Alaska joined first in 1959, but Hawaii was the 50th and last state admitted to the Union.