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The largest by far of the fifty states, Alaska is also the state
of greatest mystery and diversity. And, as Claus-M. Naske and
Herman E. Slotnick show in this comprehensive survey, the history
of Alaska's peoples and the development of its economy have matched
the diversity of its land- and seascapes."Alaska: A History" begins
by examining the region's geography and the Native peoples who
inhabited it for thousands of years before the first Europeans
arrived. The Russians claimed northern North America by right of
discovery in 1741. During their occupation of "Russian America" the
region was little more than an outpost for fur hunters and traders.
When the czar sold the territory to the United States in 1867,
nobody knew what to do with "Seward's Folly." Mainland America paid
little attention to the new acquisition until a rush of gold
seekers flooded into the Yukon Territory. In 1906 Congress granted
Alaska Territory a voteless delegate and in 1912 gave it a
territorial legislature. Not until 1959, however, was Alaska's
long-sought goal of statehood realized. During World War II,
Alaska's place along the great circle route from the United States
to Asia firmly established its military importance, which was
underscored during the Cold War. The developing military garrison
brought federal money and many new residents. Then the discovery of
huge oil and natural-gas deposits gave a measure of economic
security to the state. "Alaska: A History" provides a full
chronological survey of the region's and state's history, including
the precedent-setting Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971,
which compensated Native Americans for their losses; the effect of
the oil industry and the trans-Alaska pipeline on the economy; the
"Exxon Valdez" oil spill; and Alaska politics through the early
2000s.
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49 at Last! (Paperback)
Claus-M. Naske
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R494
R427
Discovery Miles 4 270
Save R67 (14%)
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Ships in 10 - 15 working days
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How a prophesy was fulfilled Secretary of State William Seward, who
negotiated the purchase of Alaska from Czarist Russia in 1867,
predicted on his first visit to the northern possession that Alaska
one day would become "a state or many states." Seward's prediction
came true in 1959 when Alaska became the 49th and largest state.
Little wonder this took ninety years. At first, Alaska was
recognized as a military district and later as a territory with
limited self-government. The movement toward statehood was
frustratingly slow for its advocates given the powerful influence
of outside mining, shipping, and commercial fishing interests who
exploited Alaska; the differences of opinion both at home and in
Washington, D.C. as to whether the territory could support itself
as a state; and the swirl of complex political intrigue that
touched on other issues such as civil rights, the balance of power
between the Democrats and Republicans, and the timing of Hawaii's
admittance as a state. In a book that reads at times like a
political thriller, author Dr. Claus-M. Naske tells the story about
how, after decades of trial and error, the unrelenting
pro-statehood forces won support from President Dwight D.
Eisenhower-a breakthrough for their cause-and forged a coalition in
Congress that
In 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Ernest Gruening
governor of territorial Alaska. What followed were twenty historic
years that changed the face of North America when Alaska became a
state in 1959.
Using unpublished archival materials, Claus-M. Naske follows
Gruening from Puerto Rico to the Pacific Islands and from Alaska to
Antarctica. As governor, Gruening devoted himself to the economic
development of Alaska and fought discrimination against Alaska
Natives. In 1958, he was elected to the U.S. Senate where he
opposed the Vietnam War and earned a reputation for his liberal
views on civil rights. Gruening's letters and memos reveal the
challenges that he faced every day as an activist governor and
senator. As a man of talent, ambition, and ego, Gruening met
conflict head-on and gained the respect of Alaskans for his honesty
and plain speech.
The life of Ernest Gruening is a personal account of Alaska
statehood as well as a political odyssey through the twentieth
century.
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