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We should be celebrating a four-day holiday in Alaska. Today marks 232 years since the birth of our nation and Monday — July 7 — marks 50 years since President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Alaska Statehood Act.

The juxtaposition is interesting. While we celebrate Independence Day, which remembers the 13 colonies declaring independence from domineering Britain with the well-known cry against taxation without representation, much of Alaska’s cause centered on a similar argument — except the territory of Alaska sought statehood, and joining the union, as a means of gaining independence.

The territory of Alaska is still fresh in the minds of pioneer Alaskans who, 50 years ago, were young men and women with an exciting future ahead. The problem was the territory was tied to and regulated by the United States but lacked representation in Congress.

Juneau newspaperman George Sundborg authored a paper in 1946 that stated the idea succinctly: “The form which self-government and home rule have taken in the United States is statehood. Immediately upon winning their independence, the thirteen American colonies became states. Statehood has been the goal — the successful goal — of all the Americans who since that time have pushed the frontier from the Alleghenies to the Pacific. It seems that Americans no sooner got their feet upon the ground than they wanted to make the ground into a state... .”

With the passage of statehood, Alaska wrested self-government from territorial rule and gained not only self-government, but state representation in Congress. Perhaps most importantly, Alaskans gained individual representation through the power of the vote.

On our birthday, in a presidential election year, this is a chance to celebrate indeed and time to remind ourselves of the rights and abilities younger Alaskans already take for granted and in too many cases, fail to exercise.