I have wondered why Alaska and Hawaii became States. They are not geographically connected to any other state.
We couldn’t those areas have remained American possessions are territories longer term?
Why did Alaska and Hawaii become states and why are some talking about statehood for Puerto Rico?
But nobody ever talks about statehood for Guam , the Virgin Islands, American Samoa or other offshore American possessions.
Some wanted us to make The Philippines a state.
Have you checked what the population of the Philippines is today?
Exactly.
Because the idea of "long term territories" was a repugnent concept to thinking people then as it should be to thinking people now.
Becoming a territory was the first step toward becoming a state.
But nobody ever talks about statehood for Guam , the Virgin Islands, American Samoa or other offshore American possessions.
Yeah, they do.
Since they are smaller there is less talk but there is talk.
It had to do with Sea Power and the need for Hawaii as a fuel depot and major permanent military base. The US Navy determined that it was critically important. The airplanes back then couldn’t fly from SFO to the Far East nonstop either. That’s why we had bases at Midway and Wake as well. Gas stations. When my Destroyer relocated from Yokosuka to Dago in 1970 we had to fuel at Okinawa, Midway and Pearl. The ships just didn’t have the range