Eisenhower Directs the Bureau of the Budget to Coordinate the Federal Government’s Transition to Alaska Statehood (1958)

Date: July 18, 1958

Created By: Dwight D. Eisenhower

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 Alaska (4); NAID #12012410

In this July 18, 1958 letter, President Dwight D. Eisenhower directs Bureau of the Budget Director Maurice H. Stans to lead the executive branch’s preparations for Alaska’s transition from a federal territory to a state. With Alaska’s admission to the Union approaching, Eisenhower explains that existing federal laws and programs would need to be adjusted to ensure an orderly transition to statehood. He emphasizes that the process required careful study of the effects of statehood and the creation of a coordinated federal plan.

Eisenhower assigns the Bureau of the Budget responsibility for coordinating this effort beyond the normal responsibilities of the Department of the Interior. He instructs Stans to work with interested federal departments and agencies to examine the implications of Alaska statehood, develop a comprehensive transition plan, and identify issues requiring presidential attention. The letter illustrates that admitting Alaska to the Union involved considerably more than passing the Alaska Statehood Act. Federal officials also had to determine how statehood would affect existing laws, programs, and administrative responsibilities throughout the executive branch. The document provides insight into Eisenhower’s efforts to coordinate the federal government as Alaska prepared to become the 49th state.