The Alaska Statehood Act was passed in July, 1958, and Alaska officially became a state in January, 1959. *waves flag* Yaaaaaay.
Interesting factoid: The National Municipal League called the Alaska Constitution one of the best ever written. (according to this brief history)
When I was little, I predicted Alaska would secede. (I was very little.) Hey, it could happen, but now that I'm a lawyer (and, allegedly, a grown-up), I understand better how such bonds can be difficult to dissolve.
Still, sometimes I wonder what it really gets out of being part of the U.S. Except for, you know, keeping me from having grown up in the Soviet Union. (But...I wonder if the Soviet Union would have extended across the Bering Strait in the first place. Hmmmmm. I smell a story idea in there somewhere.)