Eisenhower Administration Plan for Alaska Statehood While Preserving Federal Control of Strategic Defense Areas (1957)

Date: March 6, 1957

Created By: Legislative Counsel

Original or Replica: Original

Era: Alaska & Hawaii Statehood, The Presidency

Collection: Eisenhower Presidential Library

Citations: [DDE’s Records as President, Official File, Box 630, OF-147-D-1 Alaskan Statehood (2); NAID #12010354

This March 6, 1957 Department of the Interior memorandum outlines a proposed strategy for implementing the Eisenhower administration’s support for Alaska statehood while protecting federal defense interests. The administration had endorsed admitting Alaska as a state but wanted safeguards allowing the federal government to maintain control over areas considered important to national security. The memorandum rejects an alternative proposal to partition Alaska, arguing that partition would disenfranchise thousands of residents, create international and political problems, require an expensive separate government, and reverse earlier administration positions.

Instead, officials proposed giving the president authority to establish areas of exclusive federal control within Alaska before or after statehood. This approach would allow most of the territory to become a state while preserving federal authority over strategically important regions without revealing specific future defense requirements. The memorandum also considers Alaska’s natural resources, population, Native communities, local government, and the political consequences of different statehood proposals. Administration officials believed their compromise could satisfy defense concerns while avoiding the deeply unpopular idea of partition. The document ultimately recommends admitting Alaska as a state while permitting designated areas to remain under exclusive federal jurisdiction, demonstrating how national security and Cold War considerations influenced the statehood debate.