Introduction to History of Alaska
In prehistoric times, a land bridge joined Alaska to Asia where the Bering Strait now lies. Across this bridge, most archeologists believe, came Asiatic peoples—ancestors of the Indians—who migrated to the North and South American continents 12,000 to 14,000 years ago. Probably 8,000 to 5,000 years ago the ancestors of the Eskimos and the Aleuts also crossed the land bridge to Alaska. The European discovery of Alaska did not come until the 18th century.
Russian America
Russia began to expand eastward across Siberia toward the Pacific Ocean in search of furs in the late 16th century. In 1724 Czar Peter the Great commissioned Vitus Bering, a Danish navigator, to make an exploratory voyage to determine whether Asia and America were connected. On this voyage, which took place in 1728, Bering found the strait later named for him and concluded that it separated the two areas. (Some historians believe that Semen Dezhnev, a Russian explorer, reached the strait before Bering—as early as 1648—but that his discovery went virtually unnoticed.)
On his second expedition, Bering discovered the Alaskan mainland in July, 1741. He died during the severe winter that followed, but the survivors returned to Russia with samples of the valuable furs to be found in the newly discovered land. The search for furs drew large numbers of Russian traders and hunters to Alaska.
Russian activity in Alaska aroused the interest of other countries. In 1775 Spanish explorers surveyed the coast of Alaska. Captain James Cook of Great Britain sailed along the coast in 1778, during his search for a northwest passage linking the Atlantic and Pacific. In 1786 a French expedition landed in Alaska. It was the Russians, however, who occupied Alaska. For over a hundred years after Bering's discovery, they exploited the coastal resources, nearly depleting Alaska of furs and enslaving or slaughtering the Aleuts.
The first permanent Russian settlement was founded on Kodiak Island in 1784. In 1786 Gerasim Pribilof discovered a group of islands that proved to be important breeding grounds for fur-bearing seals. A contract granting exclusive fur-trading rights in Alaska for 20 years was given to the Russian-American Company by Czar Paul in 1799.
Under the able but autocratic rule of Aleksandr Baranov, the company prospered. In 1804 a capital was established at Sitka. A trading post was built as far south as California, at Fort Ross, in 1812 (vacated in 1841). After Baranov's departure in 1818, the company's prosperity declined, and Russia was eventually forced to grant trading privileges in Alaska to the United States (1824) and Great Britain (1825).
Trade became less and less profitable for the Russians. As early as 1857, Russia offered to sell Alaska to the United States. Negotiations were unsuccessful until after the American Civil War. On March 30, 1867, Secretary of State William H. Seward signed a treaty purchasing Alaska for $7,200,000, or about two cents an acre (about $5 per square kilometer). The purchase was generally unpopular in the United States, and Alaska was called “Seward's Folly” and “Seward's Icebox.”
United States Territory
Alaska was at various times under the jurisdiction of the War, Treasury, and Navy departments, but no attention was given to its internal problems until 1884. In that year, an act of Congress established civil and judicial government in Alaska. The United States did not really become interested in Alaska until 1896, when gold was discovered in the Klondike in Canada's Yukon Territory. This event led to a gold rush across Alaska and substantial discoveries at Nome (1899) and Fairbanks (1902). The seat of administration was moved from Sitka to Juneau in 1900.
As a result of Alaska's growing importance, Canada pressed its claims to territory bordering British Columbia on the Pacific. An international commission decided in favor of the United States in 1903. Also in 1903, Congress enacted an Alaskan homestead law to encourage settlement. An international dispute over seal hunting in the Bering Sea was settled by treaty in 1911.
The Alaska boundary dispute between Canada and the United States was settled in 1903 by a special commission. The dispute resulted from differing interpretations of an 1825 agreement. The agreement, made by Russia and the United Kingdom, ambiguously defined the border between Russian America (later Alaska) and northwestern Canada.In 1912 Congress passed the Organic Act of Alaska, designating Alaska an organized territory. The territorial legislature met for the first time in 1913. In 1916 a statehood bill was introduced in Congress; it was the beginning of a 42-year struggle for admission.
Economic progress continued after the gold-rush period, but at a slower pace. Population, which had risen to about 64,000 at the peak of the gold rush, totaled about 55,000 in 1920. During the 1920's, the salmon industry was expanded, modern mining methods were developed, and transportation was improved. The Alaska Railroad, linking Alaska to British Columbia, was completed in 1923. Beginning in 1935, farmers from the “Dust Bowl” region of the Middle West began to migrate to Alaska.
Alaska's strategic military importance was not recognized until World War II. In 1942 the Japanese invaded the Aleutian Islands, for a time occupying Attu and Kiska. Military personnel and construction workers were sent in increasing numbers to bolster Alaska's defenses. After the war a substantial military force remained.
Important dates in Alaska1741 Captain Vitus Bering, a Danish navigator, landed on what is now Kayak Island.1784 Russians established the first white settlement in Alaska, on Kodiak Island.1824-1825 Russia agreed to recognize latitude 54 degrees 40 minutes as the southern boundary of Alaska.1867 The United States purchased Alaska from Russia.1884 Congress gave Alaska laws and a federal court.1897-1898 The Klondike and Alaska gold rush started.1906 Alaskans elected their first delegate to the U.S. Congress.1912 Congress established Alaska as a U.S. territory.1942 The Japanese bombed Dutch Harbor and invaded the Aleutians. The Alaska Highway was completed.1958 Congress approved Alaskan statehood on June 30.1959 Alaska became the 49th state on January 3.1968 Large oil reserves were discovered near Prudhoe Bay.1971 Congress passed the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, giving 44 million acres (18 million hectares) of land to native Alaskans.1977 Workers completed construction of a pipeline to carry oil from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez.1980 Congress passed the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, which placed about a fourth of the state's land in the National Park System.1989 The Exxon Valdez dumped nearly 11 million gallons (42 million liters) of oil into Prince William Sound in the largest oil spill in United States history.1992 Most of the Exxon Valdez oil-spill cleanup was completed at a cost of more than $2 billion.2006 Sarah Palin took office as Alaska's first woman governor.The 49th State
Alaskans voted for statehood in a territorial referendum in 1946, but bills introduced in Congress were unsuccessful. In 1956 a constitutional convention adopted a state constitution, which was ratified by the people. Statehood was finally approved by Congress in 1958. On January 3, 1959, Alaska was admitted to the Union.
The strongest North American earthquake ever recorded shook southern Alaska on March 27, 1964, causing widespread damage and more than 100 deaths. In 1971 the federal government made a settlement of nearly one billion dollars to resolve the land claims of Alaska's native peoples.
Huge oil deposits discovered at Prudhoe Bay in 1968 were opened to development when Congress passed a bill in 1973 allowing construction of a trans-Alaska oil pipeline. The 789-mile (1,270-km) pipeline, linking Prudhoe Bay with the port of Valdez, was completed in 1977.
In 1980, after a long struggle between environmentalists and developers, the U.S. Congress passed the Alaska Lands Act, which restricted commercial development of 104.3 million acres (42.2 million hectares) of federal land in Alaska. In 1989, the largest oil spill in United States history occurred when the oil tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground, spilling 10 million gallons (38 million liters) of oil into Prince William Sound. The oil spill polluted the surrounding waters and beaches and hurt wildlife. By the time the cleanup was completed in 1992, the cost was more than $2 billion.
In 1998, the Alaska Sea Life Center opened in Seward to care for sick and injured animals; much of the cost of this center was funded by compensation from the owners of Exxon Valdez. Also in 1998, the federal government opened four million acres (1.62 million hectares) of previously restricted land for oil exploration.