The Final Push 

The Republican Eisenhower administration supported statehood for Hawaii, which was expected to be favorable to the Republican Party, but delayed supporting the admission of Alaska. It was the appointment of sympathetic Nebraska newspaper publisher Fred Seaton as Secretary of Interior in 1956 that helped move the Eisenhower administration toward supporting statehood.

Statehood gradually gained national support, with opposition weakening in the South. Senators from that region feared that two new senators from Alaska and two new senators from Hawaii would not be sympathetic to segregation. By 1957, it was clear that the anti-segregation forces already had a clear majority. The House approved a bill for Alaska statehood on May 28, 1958, by a 210-166 vote. U.S. Rep. Leo O'Brien. a New York Democrat said that the friendship many House members had with Bartlett helped win passage, but he still regarded the outcome as a miracle. The Senate took up the measure shortly afterward and agreed with the House bill on June 30, 1958, by a vote of 64-20.