The 49th State

Alaskans voted for statehood in a territorial referendum in 1946, but bills introduced in Congress were unsuccessful. In 1956 a constitutional convention adopted a state constitution, which was ratified by the people. Statehood was finally approved by Congress in 1958. On January 3, 1959, Alaska was admitted to the Union.

The strongest North American earthquake ever recorded shook southern Alaska on March 27, 1964, causing widespread damage and more than 100 deaths. In 1971 the federal government made a settlement of nearly one billion dollars to resolve the land claims of Alaska's native peoples.

Huge oil deposits discovered at Prudhoe Bay in 1968 were opened to development when Congress passed a bill in 1973 allowing construction of a trans-Alaska oil pipeline. The 789-mile (1,270-km) pipeline, linking Prudhoe Bay with the port of Valdez, was completed in 1977.

In 1980, after a long struggle between environmentalists and developers, the U.S. Congress passed the Alaska Lands Act, which restricted commercial development of 104.3 million acres (42.2 million hectares) of federal land in Alaska. In 1989, the largest oil spill in United States history occurred when the oil tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground, spilling 10 million gallons (38 million liters) of oil into Prince William Sound. The oil spill polluted the surrounding waters and beaches and hurt wildlife. By the time the cleanup was completed in 1992, the cost was more than $2 billion.

In 1998, the Alaska Sea Life Center opened in Seward to care for sick and injured animals; much of the cost of this center was funded by compensation from the owners of Exxon Valdez. Also in 1998, the federal government opened four million acres (1.62 million hectares) of previously restricted land for oil exploration.