Changes

Alaska is known as the 49th state, only becoming a state of the United States in 1959. By that point, however, it had been colonized, first by the Russian Empire, and settled by non-indigenous populations since at least 1730s or earlier. Alaska was known as a land of rich resources and, when the US purchased the land in 1867, it also became a key part of US national defense.

====US Purchase====

Since the late 1700s trip by Captain James Cook, British interests in the western North American increased. This did prompt concerns in the US over British interests in the region. US fur traders, originally restricted in trading in Alaska by the Russo-American Treaty of 1824, ignored this treaty and increasingly traded with Alaska after the 1820s. Native populations, particularly Aleut, were decimated by the Russians through disease and war. Russian continued to face stiff native resistance through the 1850s, with the Tlingits never being conquered and threatening key Russia settlements. Native populations, in fact, rebounded in the 1850s as Russian power declined. With the Civil War over, and Russia still facing financial problems, the stage was set in 1867 for the United States to purchase Alaska. While expansion north of Washington state eluded the United States, William Seward still strongly believed in Manifest Destiny for the United States. The United States purchases Alaska for US$7.2 million, about $132 million in 2020 US dollars (Figure 2), under Secretary of State Seward guidance. Initially, many in the US ridiculed the purchase, leading people to call the purchase Seward’s folly. The first day the US gained power in Alaska was October 18, 1867, today known as Alaska Day. The importance of Alaska as a defensive possession was evident in how it was governed, with US Army, US Department of the Treasury, and US Navy tasked with governing under the government called the Department of Alaska until 1884. Sitka remained as the main settlement for the US during this time. In 1884, the Department of Alaska changed to the District of Alaska as civilian rule was now extended across the state. The 1896 Yukon Gold Rush (or known as the Klondike Gold Rush), which was mostly in neighboring Yukon, Canada, benefited Alaska as more settlers moved inland and exploration of the interior hastened. Towns along the Alaska-Canada border became established. In 1899, gold was found near Nome, Alaska, prompting construction of the Seward-Nome railway and establishment of towns such as Fairbanks. Throughout the early 20th century, mining and fishing expanded throughout the state, in particular western Alaska. The wildlife of Alaska began to greatly suffer, particularly seals and whales that were over-hunted.<ref>For more on the early history of US governing in Alaska and Native perspectives, see: Haycox, S. W., & Mangusso, M. C. (Eds.). (1996). <i>An Alaska anthology: interpreting the past</i>. Seattle: University of Washington Press. </ref>