Question

How did Alaska and Hawaii become United States Territories?

Answer 1

Hint:Alaska was a part of the Russian Territory until 1959. Hawaii was a kingdom until 1893, became a republic in 1894, ceded itself to the USA in 1898 and achieved statehood in 1959. Both states were acquired by the US in some or the other way and achieved statehood soon thereafter.

Complete answer:
On January 3, 1959, President Eisenhower of the US signed a proclamation which admitted the territory of Alaska into the Union as the 49th and largest state of the United States. Russian settlements resided in Alaska around the nineteenth century. When Russia almost went bankrupt in the 1860s, it offered Alaska for sale to the United States, which earlier had expressed interest in such a purchase. The amount was 7.2 million dollars.
Until 1854, Hawaii was a single kingdom for 80 years from the reign of King Kamehameha to Queen Liliuokalani. The Republic of Hawaii was established on July 4th, 1894 and Sanford Dole its first president. In 1895, there were attempts to restore the monarchy to the throne, but they quickly ended.
The Spanish American War in 1898 caused a wave of nationalism. As a result, President William McKinley annexed Hawaii from the United States, but it didn’t attain statehood until 1959 due to racial attitudes and nationalistic approaches. Today, native Americans are regarded as “wards” of the State of Hawaii.

Note:A lot of gold was discovered in Alaska in 1898. This brought an influx of people as the state began greatly contributing to the U.S. with its rich natural resources.
Due to the European settlements in 1778 in Hawaii, many of its cultural practices and institutions were destroyed. Today, many organizations are working to revive the culture, educate in native language and spread knowledge of their rich past.