Are Hawaii and Puerto Rico states?

Answer 1

Alaska and Hawaii are states of the United States. Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory of the United States.

Alaska became a part of the United States in 1867 when it was purchased from the Russian Empire for the princely sum of 7.2 Million dollars. The first serious attempt to make Alaska a state occurred in 1920. However it wasn't until 1946 that a referendum made it clear a majority of Alaskans wanted to seek statehood in the US. 13 years later, Alaska became the 49th state on January 3, 1959.

Hawaii was annexed by the United states in 1898. Before that Hawaii was an independent kingdom but heavily influenced by world powers, including France and England. There is a very long, rich and interesting history to the annexation and the events that led to Hawaii's admission to the union as a state. That said, Hawaii became the 50th state of the United States on August 21, 1959.

Puerto Rico was ceded to the United States by Spain as part of the Treaty of Paris ending the Spanish American War in 1898. Puerto Rico was granted limited autonomy in 1949 and given the political status of "free associated state" or Commonwealth. In 1967, 1993 and 1998 referendums on seeking statehood failed by ever narrowing margins. In 2012 a referendum showed most Puerto Ricans who voted on the question wanted to seek statehood. However a political firestorm about the ballot lay-out and the way the question was posed essentially invalidated the result. A new referendum is being hammered out and could happen very soon. However, Puerto Rico remains an unincorporated territory of the United States. Puerto Ricans are citizens of the United States.

Answer 2

Hawaii became a state in 1959, but Puerto Rico is a territory and not a state.