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History of Alaska/Statehood (present) - Wikibooks, open books for an open world
Write a customer review. Amazon Giveaway allows you to run promotional giveaways in order to create buzz, reward your audience, and attract new followers and customers. Learn more about Amazon Giveaway. Set up a giveaway. Environmentalist opposition intensified in with the Alaska Coalition supporting a five-year delay in development to allow for a detailed environmental plan. As a result, following the resolution of native claims through the Native Claims Settlement Act in , construction began in Undeniably, the main impact of the discovery at Prudhoe Bay was the economic transformation of Alaska.
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Prior to this discovery, Alaska was considered to be, as Luther Carter states, a "pauper state", an economy that relied on renewable resources such as fish, timber, and the Cook Inlet oil development. It was the same economy which led the US government, during the statehood debate, to question whether Alaska would be able to support itself. From the outset, Prudhoe Bay brought economic successes. This would provide enough to cover government expenditures for four and a half years.
Furthermore, in the period of , the gross domestic product of the state more than doubled. This had a huge effect on individual residents. Despite the fluctuation, these payments provided significant support for many Alaskans and helped to change the "pauper" state considerably. As well as, the increased individual and state wealth brought the modernisation of life for many. Later on, snowmobiles replaced snow-dogs, modern houses replaced the traditional lodges, shops emerged, all financed through oil money. However, this increase in wealth was not completely positive. Many of those involved in prostitution were Eskimos, emphasizing that for many native women the only way to prosper from wage increases was to turn to prostitution.
Despite attempts to widen the basis of the economy, for example through barley farming, and the dairy industry, over-reliance has continued, in part, due to the isolated location of Alaska- exports would be expensive. The effects of this over-reliance are hugely damaging to Alaska. Most importantly in , with the state budget short of money, many Alaskans jobs were threatened, 55 out of workers had already been laid off from the Atlantic Richfield Company, and out of 16, in the state government.
Of particular concern, is that oil, a non-renewable source that will eventually run out, continues to provide the basis of the Alaskan economy. Importantly, unavoidable drops-in oil price becomes synonymous with the decline in production- the more oil drilled, the harder and more expensive it is to locate more. Another disaster to hit the state of Alaska unlike the Exxon Valdez disaster but still devastating was the Good Friday Earthquake.
On March 27, , at The damaging tremors that came with it lasted for about four minutes which was enough time to destroy many Southern Alaska towns including highways, bridges, buildings as well as unfortunately injure and take the lives of many. Avalanches and landslides also occurred breaking up rivers and flooding the coastline creating tsunamis which happened to be the most devastating part.
The earthquake covered around one million square miles of dry land in total and measured 9. These devastating effects saw a total of one hundred and nineteen million dollars in losses; this made it the costliest and second deadliest earthquake and tsunami in U. For such a large earthquake, the loss of life was fortunately low totalling at around deaths.
The area most affected by the quake was luckily not densely populated, as well as the nice weather outside may have helped people avoid collapsing buildings. Since the tremors were moderately weak at first before growing stronger citizens had time to be warned. Whilst geographically, the earthquake devastated areas, the economy of Alaska was largely kept intact.
This earthquake had the potential to be a hugely destructive force, geographically, economically and socially for Alaska and many predicted that the effects would be devastating. When the earthquake hit, Alaska had just marked its 5th anniversary as a state, having achieved statehood in , thus at this point in time, they were a very proud nation, however, the natural resource boom, such as the discovery of oil at Prudhoe Bay in had not yet occurred for Alaska.
Therefore America still saw Alaska as a weaker nation with something to prove. Thus the fact that the main business district and the most elite residential area was completely devastated by the quake meant that it had the potential to cause a huge economic disaster for Alaska. However, in reality, this was not the case, the earthquake actually seems to have boosted the Alaskan economy, sustaining it until the discovery of oil in Prudhoe Bay, which caused a boom in their economy.
This was arguably due to the form and nature of the property damage and the large amount of external aid that Alaska received. The large majority of the damage that was inflicted on public property by the earthquake and subsequent natural disasters was actually federally owned. Therefore, mostly all of it was restored by federal funds and reconstruction money was released rapidly. Similarly, damages to the private sector were funded by generous federal aid to private groups and businesses. Thus the economy did not seem to suffer nearly as bad as many people predicted it would, George W.
For individuals and communities, the damage was, in some cases great, but on the whole, the economy was certainly boosted. This did then mean that Alaska was still relying on aid from the federal government.
However, that did soon change with the discovery of oil in Prudhoe Bay and the federal aid meant that the recovery time for Alaska was rapid and efficient, thus not damaging the economy. Scientifically and geographically, the Alaskan Good Friday Earthquake did have severe and far-reaching consequences, however. The earthquake caused significant damage to an area of around 50, square miles according to scholar George W. Rogers, he also suggests that the earthquake also caused massive aftershocks with 28 occurring within twenty-four hours and ten of them being above six on the Richter scale.
The village of Seward was hit particularly badly in that it did not just receive one element of aftershock; it received all three, the earthquake itself, followed by seismic waves and landslides. The damage in the ports of Alaska was overwhelming, however, what is significant about this earthquake was that it did not take that many lives, plenty of smaller earthquakes than the good Friday earthquake have wiped out a much more substantial number of people.
The reasons for this were mainly due to the day that the earthquake occurred on; being a holiday inhabitants were at home rather than at school, by the docks or working, thus the difference in damage to property compared to lives lost is huge. Not only did the damage spread in Alaska, but the aftershocks of the earthquake reached as far as Hawaii, Mexico, and Japan, the seismic waves that reached them were fairly small, with Japan only receiving a one-foot wave whilst Hawaii received a seven-foot wave. Therefore, fortunately, the damage was limited and inconsequential.
However, in places such as Crescent City in California, twelve lives were lost due to the seismic waves that were rolling in. Thus, whilst the damage economically was actually fairly limited and in actuality helped to boost the economy, the geographical damage of the Good Friday earthquake was huge and extremely far-reaching. It became the 49th state after President Eisenhower signed the declaration. This occurred after a long struggle and resistance from Washington due to a variety of reasons.
Some of them being; the salmon industry concerned over unfavourable legislation by the new state Republicans worrying that Alaskans would send Democrats to Washington. If kept a territory, access to the military base and further construction would be very accessible. The new citizens were eager to develop the land but their pursuits were halted until statehood could be achieved. In , a referendum for the support of statehood was only at three to two. After lobbying for support in the vote was five to one in favour of acceptance.
Citizens felt that they had transformed from second-tier citizens to full inclusion.
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There was a celebratory bonfire which marked the achievement of finally becoming a state. This bonfire was enormous and was able to be seen from space; it made it into the Guinness World Book of Records. Going from being a territory to a state marked a huge occasion for the citizens of Alaska.
However, not everyone was thrilled with this newly achieved statehood. The people were divided regionally and even into pro-state regions. Some concerns were, especially in Southeast Alaska, that statehood would institutionalize a form of economic colonialism over the fishing industry. Along with Alaska not being able to support itself which could have lead to issues of land and resource development. Largely, however, the main political division was between 'urban' and 'rural' Alaskans or the Non-natives and Alaskan natives.
Despite the profound effect statehood would impose on Alaskan natives, they were not included in the political process. The ANCSA was not taken seriously until the discovery of oil in Prudhoe Bay meant constructing a pipeline through Native lands would be necessary for the oil to be retrieved. This put pressure on the aboriginal claims to be settled so that work on the pipeline could begin. The settlement, which was intended to resolve disputes over land and to spur economic development, was the largest indigenous land claims settlement in the history of the United States.
The deal would transfer settlement lands to for-profit corporations owned by Alaska natives. While this act offered self-sustenance by providing Alaskan Natives with opportunities for economic advancement, which could contribute to greater political capital to be used to support cultural and social agendas, there were a number of detriments.
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The settlement, in essence, was a strategic technique to pit corporate interests against traditional uses of land for cultural and subsistence purposes. This in turn would corporatize native interests and assimilate them into white culture. Today, Spain's Alaskan legacy endures as little more than a few place names, among these the Malaspina Glacier and the towns of Valdez and Cordova.
British settlements at the time in Alaska consisted of a few scattered trading outposts, with most settlers arriving by sea. Captain James Cook , midway through his third and final voyage of exploration in , sailed along the west coast of North America aboard HMS Resolution , from then-Spanish California all the way to the Bering Strait. During the trip, he discovered what came to be known as Cook Inlet named in honor of Cook in by George Vancouver , who had served under his command in Alaska.
The Bering Strait proved to be impassable, although the Resolution and its companion ship HMS Discovery made several attempts to sail through it. The ships left the straits to return to Hawaii in Cook's expedition spurred the British to increase their sailings along the northwest coast, following in the wake of the Spanish. As part of the deal, the Tsar expected the company to establish new settlements in Alaska and carry out an expanded colonization program. By , Alexander Baranov, now manager of the Russian—American Company, had consolidated the company's hold on the American fur trade following his victory over the local Tlingit clan at the Battle of Sitka.
Despite these efforts the Russians never fully colonized Alaska. The Russian monopoly on trade was also being weakened by the Hudson's Bay Company , which set up a post on the southern edge of Russian America in In management of the Russian-American Company was turned over to the Imperial Russian Navy and the Ukase of banned foreigners from participating in the Alaskan economy.
It soon entered into the Anglo-Russian Convention of which allowed British merchants to trade in Alaska. Although the mid—19th century were not a good time for Russians in Alaska, conditions improved for the coastal Alaska Natives who had survived contact.
The Tlingits were never conquered and continued to wage war on the Russians into the s. The Aleuts, though faced with a decreasing population in the s, ultimately rebounded. Financial difficulties in Russia, the desire to keep Alaska out of British hands, and the low profits of trade with Alaskan settlements all contributed to Russia's willingness to sell its possessions in North America. At the instigation of U. This purchase was popularly known in the U. Later discovery of gold and oil would show it to be a worthwhile one. Scholars debate whether the purchase of Alaska was a financially profitable for the federal Treasury itself, apart from its benefits to Alaskans and to businesses, and to national defense.
History of Alaska/Statehood (1959-present)
After Russian America was sold to the U. The United States flag was raised on October 18, , now called Alaska Day , and the region changed from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar. Therefore, for residents, Friday, October 6, was followed by Friday, October 18, —two Fridays in a row because of the 12 day shift in the calendar minus one day for the date-line shift.
During the Department era, from to , Alaska was variously under the jurisdiction of the U. Navy from to The Collector was the highest-ranking official of the United States government in Alaska and de facto Governor. Ball , a former Confederate Army officer, were the first individuals to serve as Collector of Customs.
When Alaska was first purchased, most of its land remained unexplored. In , Western Union laid a telegraph line across Alaska to the Bering Strait where it would connect, under water, with an Asian line. It also conducted the first scientific studies of the region and produced the first map of the entire Yukon River. The Alaska Commercial Company and the military also contributed to the growing exploration of Alaska in the last decades of the 19th century, building trading posts along the Interior's many rivers.
In , the region was organized and the name was changed from the Department of Alaska to the District of Alaska. At the time, legislators in Washington, D. In , the discovery of gold in Yukon Territory in neighboring Canada, brought many thousands of miners and new settlers to Alaska, and very quickly ended the nation's four year economic depression. Although it was uncertain whether gold would also be found in Alaska, Alaska greatly profited because it was along the easiest transportation route to the Yukon goldfields. Numerous new cities, such as Skagway, Alaska , owe their existence to a gold rush in Canada.
No history of Alaska would be complete without mention of Soapy Smith , the crime boss confidence man who operated the largest criminal empire in gold rush era Alaska, until he was shot down by vigilantes in the famed Shootout on Juneau Wharf. Today, he is known as "Alaska's Outlaw. In , gold was found in Alaska itself in Nome , and several towns subsequently began to be built, such as Fairbanks and Ruby. In , the Alaska Railroad began to be built, which would connect from Seward to Fairbanks by , though Alaska still does not have a railroad connecting it to the lower 48 states today.
Still, an overland route was built, cutting transportation times to the contiguous states by days. The industries of copper mining , fishing , and canning began to become popular in the early 20th century, with 10 canneries in some major towns. In , a boundary dispute with Canada was finally resolved.
By the turn of the 20th century, commercial fishing was gaining a foothold in the Aleutian Islands. Packing houses salted cod and herring , and salmon canneries were opened. Another commercial occupation, whaling, continued with no regard for over-hunting. They pushed the bowhead whales to the edge of extinction for the oil in their tissue. The Aleuts soon suffered severe problems due to the depletion of fur seals and sea otters which they needed for survival. As well as requiring the flesh for food, they also used the skins to cover their boats, without which they could not hunt.
The Americans also expanded into the Interior and Arctic Alaska, exploiting the furbearers, fish, and other game on which Natives depended. James Wickersham , a Delegate to Congress, introduced Alaska's first statehood bill, but it failed due to the small population and lack of interest from Alaskans. Even President Warren G.
Harding 's visit in could not create widespread interest in statehood. Under the conditions of the Second Organic Act, Alaska had been split into four divisions. The most populous of the divisions, whose capital was Juneau, wondered if it could become a separate state from the other three. Government control was a primary concern, with the territory having 52 federal agencies governing it. Then, in , the Jones Act required U.
All goods entering or leaving Alaska had to be transported by American carriers and shipped to Seattle prior to further shipment, making Alaska dependent on Washington. Supreme Court ruled that the provision of the Constitution saying one state should not hold sway over another's commerce did not apply because Alaska was only a territory. The prices Seattle shipping businesses charged began to rise to take advantage of the situation.
This situation created an atmosphere of enmity among Alaskans who watched the wealth being generated by their labors flowing into the hands of Seattle business holdings. On July 15 Harding drove in a golden railroad spike at Nenana. The train car in which he rode now sits in Fairbanks' Pioneer Park. The Depression caused prices of fish and copper, which were vital to Alaska's economy at the time, to decline.
Wages were dropped and the workforce decreased by more than half. In , President Franklin D.