What were alaska and hawaii before they were states?

ALASKA was a Russian colony from 1744 until the USA bought it in 1867 for $7,200,000. It was made a state in 1959. ALASKA was also a "territory" until May 1959. Statehood requires a minimum population.

Hawaii was a kingdom until 1893 and became a republic in 1894. It then ceded itself to the USA in 1898 and became a state in 1959. IMMEDIATELY before Hawaii achieved statehood in 1959, it was a Territory of the US. However, it had been a sovereign constitutional monarchy until 1893, when the last Queen, Lili'uokalani, was deposed by a group of American sugar planters and missionaries, with the support of the US marines.

answer; lorenz;