State of Alaska : Great Land, Grateful People

On this day in 1959, the territory of Alaska becomes the State of Alaska, the 49th state in the Union. At nearly twice the size of Texas, it’s also the largest.

The name Alaska come from the Aleut word alyeska, which means “great land.”

Back in 1867, Secretary of State William Seward negotiated the purchase of Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million. Then, on October 18th of that year, Russia formally transferred possession to the United States.

Nearly one hundred years later, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed “Proclamation 3269—Admission of the State of Alaska Into the Union.”

“DONE at the City of Washington at one minute past noon on this third day of January in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and fifty-nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and eighty-third.”

Our Heritage of Liberty

Finally, here is the Preamble of the Constitution of the State of Alaska:

“We the people of Alaska, grateful to God and to those who founded our nation and pioneered this great land, in order to secure and transmit to succeeding generations our heritage of political, civil, and religious liberty within the Union of States, do ordain and establish this constitution for the State of Alaska.”

As depicted on the state flag, the stars of the “Big Dipper” can be used to locate Polaris and determine true north. Finding true north is essential for staying on course, as is rediscovering Our Lost Founding.