I think Alaska got in first because Congress wasn't quite ready to give statehood to such a racially mixed place as Hawai'i.  Didn't think the "little brown braddahs" were ready for that degree of self-governance.  Back then we started a record label, "49th State Records" that actually released some 45s of local artists, that's how sure we were at the time that we'd get in before Alaska.

Self-sufficiency is actually the key to modern day sovereignty.  We are like a fleet of ships in the exact middle of the Pacific.  But O'ahu with its million-plus people could never be self-sufficient.  Maybe only the Big Island could.  On the other hand we could certainly grow enough "agricultural product" to supply the needs of the entire mainland and the money would roll in.

I cherish our flag and state song that remind us of the time we were truly free.  Some of us remember them blowing the air raid sirens when we became a state, and still wonder if we made the right choice.