Alaska and the Island Territories

Alaska Largest state in the United States Least populated state by density in the United States Most of the state is owned by the federal government and is managed as national parks and wildlife refuges Land ownership of Alaska is shared by the federal government, the government of Alaska, and several native American tribes of the state.

Alaska’s Size

Alaska’s Location

Seward’s Folly Secretary of State William H. Seward agreed to purchase Alaska from the Russian Empire in 1867 Made a check to the Russian Ambassador for 7.2 million dollars

Seward’s Folly Many people were outraged at the purchase Way too much money Worthless, uninhabitable land Hard to manage Seward continued to assert that he would be vindicated He believed that the land was very valuable Resources were plentiful

Guess What? Seward was right… Gold was discovered in 1896 Started the Klondike Gold Rush By 1898, over 100,000 people had moved to Alaska More Gold was discovered in 1902, leading to another migration Oil discoveries in the 20th Century has increased the value of the land Not bad, considering Seward paid about two cents per acre…

Alaska as a state Population continued to grow through World War II Military bases Adventure seekers Achieved statehood on January 3,1959

Alaska Barrow, Alaska, the northernmost city in the United States Left: Anchorage, Alaska’s largest City Right: An icebow.

Hawaii Only island state in the U.S. Consists entirely of volcanic islands The only state in the union that is getting larger in size Had been a monarchy and a republic before becoming a state

Overthrow of the Monarchy Queen Lili’oukalani was the last of the Hawaiian monarchs Her government was overthrown by a group of American businessmen, who called themselves the committee for public safety They sought admittance into the United States Applied for statehood Annexed by the United States in 1898 Queen Lili’oukalani of Hawaii

Statehood Hawaii was admitted to the Union as a territory Remained a territory for over 50 years The self-governed territory did not want statehood The territorial government was overthrown in 1950 New government applied for and was granted statehood in 1959 Alaska and Hawaii are the most recent states admitted to the Union, both in 1959 Flag of Hawaii

Hawaii Skyline of Honolulu Lava Flow Location of Hawaii

Other territories Guam Mariana Islands Puerto Rico Virgin Islands American Samoa Guantanamo Bay, Cuba

United States territories