Letter to Senator Henry Jackson

Date: March 31, 1955

Created By: Dwight D. Eisenhower

Original or Replica: Original

Era: The Presidency

Collection: Eisenhower Presidential Library

Citations: DDE’s Records as President, Official File, Box 630, OF-147-D-1 Alaskan Statehood (2); NAID #12010352

In this March 31, 1955 letter to Senator Henry M. Jackson, President Dwight D. Eisenhower discusses his concerns about granting statehood to the Territory of Alaska. Although Eisenhower states that he had publicly supported Alaska statehood in principle, he emphasizes that the territory’s enormous strategic importance to national defense created significant complications. American military plans in Alaska depended upon the federal government maintaining freedom of movement and control over large areas considered essential to national security.

Eisenhower worries that converting Alaska from a territory into a state could create difficult questions about the relationship between federal military authority and the newly established state government. Given Cold War conditions, he argues that it would be unwise to make a fundamental change without safeguards protecting national defense requirements. Eisenhower acknowledges that legislation might not completely resolve his concerns and expresses reservations about granting Alaska immediate statehood. However, he notes that Secretary of the Interior Douglas McKay had developed a proposal intended to address the complex issues surrounding statehood. Eisenhower promises to seriously consider the proposal if Congress approves it. The letter demonstrates how national security concerns influenced Eisenhower’s evolving position on Alaska’s admission to the Union.