New Stars, Old Stripes

Now therefore, I, Dwight D. Eisenhower, President of the United States of America, do hereby declare and proclaim that the procedural requirements imposed by the Congress on the State of Alaska to entitle that state to admission into the Union have been complied with and that admission of Alaska into the Union on an equal footing with the other states of the Union is now accomplished.

Using six pens to be handed out as souvenirs, President Eisenhower signed the proclamation in the White House at 12:01 p.m., Jan. 3, 1959 that admitted Alaska to the Union as the 49th state. Last state to be admitted: Arizona, Feb. 14, 1912. Reason for the precise timing: the 85th Congress expired at noon, and signature any earlier would have given Alaska's two Senators and single Representative a seniority lead on the new members of the 86th Congress.

Thus last week the U.S. picked up a new frontier state more than twice the size of Texas, a vast treasure chest of iced-in natural resources, a strategic base with frontiers on the Bering Strait, three miles from Asia. The U.S. also picked up in Alaska its first noncontiguous state, and thus added a new dimension--and a new promise--to the Union that had grown from Plymouth Rock and Philadelphia through Appomattox and Omaha Beach to become the bulwark of the free world.

Using six more pens, the President next signed an executive order designating a new 49-star national flag to become official on the Fourth of July. Design of the new flag: seven staggered rows of seven white stars set in a blue canton within the field of 13 alternate red and white stripes. Said the President as he signed: "Well, that is a historic thing." And at ceremony's end he noted to the special guests, Vice President Nixon, Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn. Alaska Senators-elect E. L. ("Bob") Bartlett, Ernest Gruening, Interior Secretary Fred A. Seaton, that a 50th star--for Hawaii--could be added to the national flag quite simply by putting eight stars in the middle row.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.