On this day in 1884, President Chester A. Arthur changed the status of Alaska.
It became the District of Alaska, under a reorganization plan that put civilians in control. From that year until 1912, when Alaska became a territory and acquired nonvoting representation in Congress, 52 federal agencies had often overlapping jurisdiction over the district.
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During the previous era, when Alaska was a “department,” Washington often changed its mind on how it should be governed. Alaska, comprising some 663,000 square miles, variously came under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Army, from 1867 until 1877; the Treasury, from 1877 until 1879; and the U.S. Navy, from 1879 to 1884.
Since the late 18th century, Alaska was either explored or settled by the Spanish (who named the port of Valdez), the British, the Americans and the Russians. The population of Russian-Americans, however, never exceeded some 700 settlers.
Czarist Russia’s financial difficulties, coupled with its desire to keep Alaska out of British hands, contributed to St. Petersburg’s willingness to sell its North American possession to the United States for $7.2 million in 1867.
During the 1890s, the discovery of gold brought thousands of miners and settlers — and ultimately led to territorial status.
In 1916, when Alaska’s population had grown to about 58,000, Judge James Wickersham introduced a statehood bill that sparked little interest. A visit by President Warren G. Harding in 1923 failed to leave any political residue.
During World War II, two of the outer Aleutian Islands — Attu and Kiska — were occupied by the Japanese. Though of little military value, the recovery of the islands became a matter of U.S. national pride.
Alaska became a state on Jan. 3, 1959, under President Dwight D.Eisenhower.
SOURCE: “Alaska: A Narrative History,” by Walter Borneman (2003)