Russian America
The United States purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867 and on October 18, formally took control in the Russian America capital of Sitka.  The financial decline of the Russian American Company, paired with the Crown’s uncertainty it could defend its North American holdings, forced Alaska’s sale.  William H. Seward brokered the Alaska purchase for $7.2 million; his decision was unpopular as public opinion considered the investment worthless. 

The United States was too preoccupied with Reconstruction efforts following the Civil War to devote any energy to the colonization of the Alaska acquisition.  Russians residing in Alaska at the time of its sale were given a three-year deadline to determine whether they wanted to become American citizens or to return to a homeland many had only heard about.  Relations quickly deteriorated between the remaining Russians and the U.S. soldiers charged with imposing American rule.  Already feeling abandoned by their own government, the majority of Russians now felt neglected by the United States, a perception which hastened the decision for many to set sail for Russia. 

Indigenous Alaskans were also confused by the recent land transaction and justifiably wary of American soldiers.  It became quickly apparent that, with few exceptions, Americans had no desire to colonize this mysterious land with its rugged terrain and harsh climate.  Something more tempting would entice newcomers: gold.

The Alaska Territory
Alaska remained relatively unknown until the end of the 19th century when the Gold Rush lured tens of thousands of prospectors and adventurers to Alaska and the Yukon.  As a consequence, small towns sprang up along the trail to supply those hoping to strike gold.  Alaska was now billed as the "land of opportunity."
 
In 1906, Alaska was authorized to send a voteless delegate to Congress.  Six years later on August 24, 1912, Alaska gained official territorial status and was authorized to elect a local legislature.  However, the federal government retained the power to appoint the Territorial Governor and it tightly controlled legislative activities.  In contrast to every other organized territory, Alaska was not given jurisdiction to regulate its fish, game, and fur resources.  Alaska’s limited population, remote location, and dicey relations between the indigenous population and American colonists complicated Alaska’s path to statehood. 

The journey to statehood began in 1916 when James Wickersham, the Alaska Delegate to Congress, introduced the first statehood bill.  The bill failed; neither Alaskans nor Congress supported any measure which would further formalize the relationship between the territory and the federal government. 

Alaska captivated the nation in 1925 when dogsled teams successfully traveled through harsh winter climate to relay a diphtheria serum from an Anchorage hospital to the isolated village of Nome.  As a result, Nome’s outbreak was contained and the successful mushers and sled dogs became national heroes.  Held annually, the Iditarod dogsled race commemorates this historic journey and gives competitors from around the globe a chance to mush 1,049 miles from Anchorage to Nome.  

Like many areas of the nation, the Great Depression significantly impacted the Alaska Territory.  The price drop of Alaska’s then two greatest commodities, copper and fish, disabled the territory's economy.  The Federal Relief Administration, a part of President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal, proposed a solution to the territory’s over-dependence on fish and copper: agricultural development.  Simultaneously, New Deal aid offered Midwestern farmers hit hardest by the Depression a chance to begin anew.  In 1935, the Matanuska Colonist Project funded 203 farming families and granted them the responsibility of introducing agricultural ingenuity to the fertile grounds of the Matanuska-Susitna Valley.  Located in Palmer, the Alaska State Fair celebrates the colonists’ fall harvests of 1936 and has matured into a statewide summer destination. 

The bombing of Pearl Harbor during World War II spurred Congress to evaluate the vulnerability of Alaska’s global positioning.  Japan invaded Attu and Kiska Islands on the Aleutian Chain, prompting the U.S. Government to increase its military presence and expand Alaska’s transportation system.  Deemed a military necessity, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers traversed over old roads and trails and linked the inhospitable terrain between British Columbia, Canada and Fairbanks, Alaska.  Miraculously, completion of the Alaska Canadian Highway took only 8 months.  Alaska was no longer considered an irrelevant territory but a strategically located military buffer. 

Journey to Statehood
In the years following World War II, many Alaskans were disturbed by the fact that territorial status had not improved Alaska’s infrastructure, medical facilities, or community services.  Moreover, the sentiment of being governed by a body thousands of miles away in Washington, D.C. did not sit well with the independent mindset of many Alaska pioneers. 

Alaska Territorial Governor Ernest Gruening and Congressional Delegate Bob Bartlett spearheaded the statehood movement in Washington, D.C.; meanwhile local movements in Alaska had finally taken root.  In 1949, the Alaska Statehood Committee was founded, merging populist and political efforts.  In 1955, Alaska’s Territorial Legislature authorized the formation of a constitutional convention.  Elected by Alaskans, 55 delegates assembled and drafted a constitution to be adopted should the territory be admitted as a state. 

Emboldened by the constitution’s popularity, impassioned Alaska politicians tirelessly lobbied Congress for statehood.  Eventually these efforts paid off.  On January 3, 1959, President Eisenhower signed the official declaration and Alaska was admitted as the 49th state of the Union. 

The 49th State
Following statehood, a number of significant discoveries and unique incidents occurred in Alaska.  In 1964, the largest earthquake ever recorded in the northern hemisphere shook Alaska. Recorded at a 9.2 on the Richter Scale (Moment Magnitude), the Good Friday Earthquake triggered destructive tsunamis as far away as California. In Southcentral Alaska, the quake ripped through the ground and unleashed catastrophic damage to many towns and cities.

As with the Klondike gold rush earlier in Alaska's history, oil shaped the economy of Alaska shortly after statehood. In the 1960s, oil companies began to explore Prudhoe Bay and the surrounding area. Production began with the completion of the Alaska Pipeline in 1977. A year prior, in 1976, Alaskans amended the state constitution to establish the Permanent Fund to invest the income from mineral resources.