1. Alaska and the Island Territories

2. 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.

3. Alaska’s Size

4. Alaska’s Location

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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…

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

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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. Hawaii
Skyline of Honolulu
Lava Flow
Location of
Hawaii

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

15. United States territories