The Territory of Alaska or Alaska Territory was an
organized incorporated territory of the United States
The territory of the United States and its overseas possessions has evolved over time, from the colonial era to the present day. It includes formally organized territories, proposed and failed states, unrecognized breakaway states, internationa ...
from August 24, 1912, until
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
was granted statehood on January 3, 1959. The territory was previously
Russian America
Russian America (russian: Русская Америка, Russkaya Amerika) was the name for the Russian Empire's colonial possessions in North America from 1799 to 1867. It consisted mostly of present-day Alaska in the United States, but a ...
, 1784–1867; the
Department of Alaska
Department of Alaska was the designation for the government of Alaska from its purchase by the United States of America in 1867 until its organization as the District of Alaska in 1884. During the department era, Alaska was variously under ...
, 1867–1884; and the
District of Alaska
The District of Alaska was the federal government’s designation for Alaska from May 17, 1884 to August 24, 1912, when it became Alaska Territory. Previously (1867–1884) it had been known as the Department of Alaska, a military designation.
...
, 1884–1912.
Origin
Passage of the 1899 Criminal Code which, among other things, included a tax on liquor, led to increased calls for Alaskan representation in Congress, and the debate finally ended on August 24, 1912, when the Alaska District became an organized, incorporated territory of the United States.
The ''Second Organic Act'' of 1912 renamed the District the Territory of Alaska. By 1916, its population was about 58,000.
James Wickersham
James Wickersham (August 24, 1857 – October 24, 1939) was a district judge for Alaska, appointed by U.S. President William McKinley to the Third Judicial District in 1900. He resigned his post in 1908 and was subsequently elected as Alaska ...
, a Delegate to Congress, introduced Alaska's first statehood bill, but it failed for lack of interest from Alaskans. Even President
Warren G. Harding
Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party, he was one of the most popular sitting U.S. presidents. A ...
's unprecedented
visit in 1923 (just days before his death) 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.
Middle 20th century
In 1920, the
Jones Act required U.S.-flagged vessels to be built in the United States, owned by U.S. citizens and documented under the laws of the United States. All goods entering or leaving Alaska had to be transported by American carriers and shipped to
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
prior to further shipment, making Alaska a ''
de facto
''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...
'' dependent of the commerce on the state of
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
. The U.S. 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's shipping businesses charged began to rise to take advantage of the situation.
The
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
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 1935, President
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
thought Americans from agricultural areas could be transferred to Alaska's
Matanuska-Susitna Valley
Matanuska-Susitna Valley () (known locally as the Mat-Su or The Valley) is an area in Southcentral Alaska south of the Alaska Range about north of Anchorage, Alaska.
It is known for the world record sized cabbages and other vegetables displayed ...
for a fresh chance at agricultural self-sustainment. Colonists were largely from northern states in the
Upper Midwest
The Upper Midwest is a region in the northern portion of the U.S. Census Bureau's Midwestern United States. It is largely a sub-region of the Midwest. Although the exact boundaries are not uniformly agreed-upon, the region is defined as referring ...
, such as
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
,
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
, and
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
under the belief that only those who grew up with climates similar to that of Alaska's could handle settler life there. The United Congo Improvement Association asked the president to settle 400
African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
farmers in Alaska, saying that the territory would offer full political rights, but racial prejudice and the belief that only those from northern states would make suitable colonists caused the proposal to fail.
The exploration and settlement of Alaska would not have been possible without the development of aircraft, which allowed for the influx of settlers into the state's interior, and rapid transportation of people and supplies throughout. However, owing to unfavorable weather conditions and the high ratio of pilots to population, over 1,700
aircraft wreck sites are scattered throughout Alaska. Numerous wrecks also trace their origins to the military build-up of the state during both
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
and the
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
.
Alaska's strategic importance to the United States became more apparent during World War II. In April 1942, over 200 people of Japanese origin in the territory were
forcibly removed and sent to internment camps inland as a result of
Executive Order 9066
Executive Order 9066 was a United States presidential executive order signed and issued during World War II by United States president Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942. This order authorized the secretary of war to prescribe certain ...
, which authorized the government to evict and intern any person of Japanese descent from the
Pacific Coast
Pacific coast may be used to reference any coastline that borders the Pacific Ocean.
Geography Americas
Countries on the western side of the Americas have a Pacific coast as their western or southwestern border, except for Panama, where the Pac ...
. From June 1942 until August 1943 the Japanese
invaded the U.S. by way of the Aleutian Islands chain, in the
Battle of the Aleutian Islands. This marked the first time since the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...
that American soil was occupied by a foreign enemy. The Japanese were eventually repelled from the Aleutian Islands by a force of 34,000 American troops.
In the spring and summer of 1945,
Cold Bay
Cold Bay ( ale, Udaamagax,; Sugpiaq: ''Pualu'') is a city in Aleutians East Borough, Alaska, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 108, but at the 2020 census this had reduced to 50.
Cold Bay is one of the main commercial ...
on the
Alaska Peninsula
The Alaska Peninsula (also called Aleut Peninsula or Aleutian Peninsula, ale, Alasxix̂; Sugpiaq: ''Aluuwiq'', ''Al'uwiq'') is a peninsula extending about to the southwest from the mainland of Alaska and ending in the Aleutian Islands. The ...
was the site of the largest and most ambitious transfer program of World War II,
Project Hula
Project Hula was a program during World War II in which the United States transferred naval vessels to the Soviet Union in anticipation of the Soviets eventually joining the Pacific War, war against Japan, specifically in preparation for planne ...
, in which the United States transferred 149 ships and craft to the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
and trained 12,000 Soviet personnel in their operation in anticipation of the Soviet Union entering the
war against Japan. At any given time, about 1,500 American personnel were at Cold Bay and
Fort Randall
The Fort Randall Military Post was established in 1856 to help keep peace on the frontier. It was located on the south side of the Missouri River in South Dakota, just below the present site of the Fort Randall Dam.
History
The site for the f ...
during Project Hula.
Statehood
On January 3, 1959, Alaska became the 49th state. There was some delay because of concern by members of the national Republican Party that Alaska would elect Democratic Party members to Congress, in contrast to Hawaii, which was also a contender for statehood at the same time and thought to have Republican Party support. In recent years these predictions have turned out to be just the opposite for both states.
Government
Alaska's territorial capitol had been in
Sitka
russian: Ситка
, native_name_lang = tli
, settlement_type = Consolidated city-borough
, image_skyline = File:Sitka 84 Elev 135.jpg
, image_caption = Downtown Sitka in 1984
, image_size ...
until 1906, when it was moved north to
Juneau
The City and Borough of Juneau, more commonly known simply as Juneau ( ; tli, Dzánti K'ihéeni ), is the capital city of the state of Alaska. Located in the Gastineau Channel and the Alaskan panhandle, it is a unified municipality and the se ...
. Construction of the Alaska Governor's Mansion began that same year.
Prior to the formation of a dedicated territorial law enforcement agency, law enforcement in Alaska was handled by a various federal agencies for decades including the
US Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
,
Navy
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...
, and the
Revenue Cutter Service
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. With the establishment of a civilian government in 1884, the
United States Marshals Service
The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a bureau within the U.S. Department of Justice, operating under the direction of the Attorney General, but serves as the enforceme ...
also deployed deputy US marshals across the territory. Federal marshals, police departments chartered by cities, and other federal law enforcement officers would serve as the primary means of territorial law enforcement until 1941, when the territorial legislature created the Alaska Highway Patrol. Highway patrolmen only patrolled the main highways of Alaska, and did not visit remote areas or regions. They were commissioned to only enforce traffic laws. They were eventually deputized as special deputy US marshals to fill this void in jurisdiction. The legislature refused to make them police officers until the agency name was changed to Alaska Territorial Police and additional personnel were hired from among the US marshals' ranks. The agency became the Alaska Territorial Police in 1953, and again changed its title to
Alaska State Troopers
The Alaska State Troopers, officially the Division of Alaska State Troopers (AST), is the state police agency of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is a division of the Alaska Department of Public Safety (DPS). The Alaska State Troopers is a full-se ...
in 1967.
Prior to statehood, the
Federal Bureau of Prisons
The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Justice that is responsible for the care, custody, and control of incarcerated individuals who have committed federal crimes; that i ...
had correctional jurisdiction over Alaska.
Governors of Territory of Alaska
*
Walter E. Clark (1912–1913)
*
J.F.A. Strong (1913–1918)
*
Thomas Riggs Jr. (1918–1921)
*
Scott C. Bone
Scott Cardelle Bone (February 15, 1860January 26, 1936) was the List of Governors of Alaska, fourth Territorial Governor of Alaska Territory, Alaska, serving from 1921 to 1925. A Republican Party (United States), Republican, he was appointed by ...
(1921–1925)
*
George A. Parks (1925–1933)
*
John W. Troy (1933–1939)
*
Ernest Gruening
Ernest Henry Gruening ( ; February 6, 1887 – June 26, 1974) was an American journalist and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, Gruening was the governor of the Alaska Territory from 1939 until 1953, and a United States Senator from A ...
(1939–1953)
*
B. Frank Heintzleman
Benjamin Franklin Heintzleman (December 3, 1888 – June 24, 1965) was an American forester who spent much of his career supporting the development of Alaska Territory. Following a career with the United States Forest Service he was appointed Lis ...
(1953–1957)
*
Waino Hendrickson
Waino Edward Hendrickson (June 18, 1896June 22, 1983) was an American Republican politician & businessman, the final Governor of the Territory of Alaska, before statehood.
Hendrickson was born in Juneau in 1896. He served in World War I before ...
(acting) (1957)
*
Mike Stepovich
Michael Anthony Stepovich (March 12, 1919 – February 14, 2014) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the last non-acting Governor of the Territory of Alaska. Stepovich served as Territorial Governor from 1957 to 1958, and Alaska ...
(1957–1958)
* Waino Hendrickson (acting) (1958–1959)
Shadow Senators
Under the Tennessee Plan, Alaska had unrecognized Senators & an at-large representative,
also being the only shadow congressmen elected by their state, after the passage of the 17th Amendment.
See also
*
Alaska Territory's at-large congressional district
Alaska Territory's at-large congressional district (also District of Alaska's at-large congressional district) was a congressional district created in 1906 to represent the District of Alaska, which was reorganized into the Alaska Territory in 19 ...
*
Historic regions of the United States
The territory of the United States and its overseas possessions has evolved over time, from the colonial era to the present day. It includes formally organized territories, proposed and failed states, unrecognized breakaway states, internationa ...
*
History of Alaska
The history of Alaska dates back to the Upper Paleolithic period (around 14,000 Anno Domini, BC), when Hunter-gatherer, foraging groups crossed the Beringia, Bering land bridge into what is now western Alaska. At the time of European contact by ...
*
Territorial evolution of the United States
The United States of America was created on July 4, 1776, with the U.S. Declaration of Independence of thirteen British colonies in North America. In the Lee Resolution two days prior, the colonies resolved that they were free and independent ...
Footnotes
Further reading
* Catherine Holder Spude, ''Saloons, Prostitutes, and Temperance in Alaska Territory.'' Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 2015.
{{Coord, 64, N, 153, W, display=title
1912 establishments in Alaska
1959 disestablishments in Alaska
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