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Alaska History
Alaska was first populated by humans who came across from Asia via the Bering
Land Bridge. It was via this route that most, if not all, of the
pre-Columbian population reached the Americas. The Native American population
included Inupiaq, Inuit and Yupik Eskimos, and Aleuts.
The first Europeans to reach Alaska came from
Russia.
Alaska became a Russian colony in 1744, although the first Russian settlement
was founded only in 1784.
Spanish ships also explored the coast and made some settlements during the 18th
century. The names of some Spanish settlements such as Cordova and Valdez
survive to this today.
Following the British North America Act of 1867, which created the unified
dominion of Canada, U.S. Secretary of State William
Seward urged, and the U.S. Senate approved, a treaty purchasing
Alaska from Imperial Russia for US$7,200,000.
The U.S. took possession of the territory, and raised the American flag
on
October 18th, 1867,
which is still commemorated as "Alaska day".
After the purchase, the area was initially called the Department of Alaska.
Between 1884 and 1912, it was called the District of Alaska.
Alaska was granted territorial status in 1912.
During World War II, three of the outer Aleutian Islands (Attu, Agattu and Kiska)
were occupied by Japanese troops. This was the only area within the current
borders of the United States to have been occupied by enemy forces
during the war.
On
January 3rd,
1959,
Alaska became a US state.
On March 27th,
1964,
a major earthquake, known as the
"Good Friday Earthquake" or
"Great Alaska Earthquake", hit Alaska
killing 131 people, and causing tsunamis which destroyed several towns
and villages.
Related Links:
Disclosure: Products details and descriptions provided by Amazon.com. Our company may receive a payment if you purchase products from them after following a link from this website.
By Robert H Armstrong
Alaska Northwest Books Paperback (254 pages)
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Click Here | Product Description: Updated and revised, this popular book is a lively field guide to Southeast Alaska's natural wonders. |
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By Otis Hays Jr. Jr.
University of Alaska Press Paperback (200 pages)
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Click Here | Product Description: On the eve of World War II, the national interests of Japan, the United States, and the Soviet Union collided in the North Pacific. Alaska’s Hidden Wars tells the story of the war in the North Pacific—a story of savage weather, isolation, and sacrifice. Two island chains—the Aleutians and the Kuriles—became the focus of a series of major campaigns that pitted the Americans against the Japanese. Alaska’s Hidden Wars chronicles the role of Japanese-American intelligence specialists and reveals a Japanese eyewitness account of the defense of Attu. Two virtually unknown aspects of the North Pacific war are also exposed: the brutal North Pacific weather and the imprisonment of American airmen in Kamchatka. In 1942, the Japanese raided Dutch Harbor in the Aleutian Islands and occupied the islands of Kiska and Attu. The Americans mounted a vigorous campaign, and the Japanese retreated to the Kuriles. For the next two years, the Americans launched air raids and fleet bombardments, while American soldiers maintained lonely outposts along Aleutian coasts. But in 1945, when Japan finally surrendered, the Kuriles were taken—not by the waiting Americans, but by the Soviets. Alaska’s Hidden Wars is a fast-moving history that brings declassified archival sources to light and draws the reader into the lonely, bitter war fought in the North Pacific. |
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Travelers' Tales Paperback (326 pages)
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Click Here | Product Description: Explore America's last frontier with a cabal of experienced guides to witness the Inupiat taking of a bowhead whale, follow the seasons of commercial fisherfolk, sail the Inside Passage, and flight-see with bush pilots around Denali. The Land of the Midnight Sun has its share of surprises as well, including an entire town that lives in a single World War II vintage highrise, a hairy man who roams the bush, and backcountry gourmands who communicate with edible plants. Contributors include Tim Cahill, Jon Krakauer, Pam Houston, Joe McGinnis, Ian Frazier, David Roberts and others. |
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By Harry Ritter
Alaska Northwest Books Paperback (143 pages)
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Click Here | Product Description: A lively, take-along account of Alaska's sweeping history, from pre-contact Native times to the gold rush, to the present. |
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By Walter R. Borneman
HarperCollins Released: 2003-02-04 Hardcover (624 pages)
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The history of Alaska is filled with stories of new land and new riches -- and ever present are new people with competing views over how these resources should be used: Russians exploiting a fur empire; explorers checking rival advances; prospectors stampeding to the clarion call of "Gold!"; soldiers battling out a decisive chapter in world war; oil wildcatters looking for a different kind of mineral wealth; and always at the core of these disputes is the question of how the land is to be used and by whom. Major themes include Alaska Natives, exploration and mountaineering, mining rushes, railroads and aviation, military operations, and the conflict pitting conservation against development, with a spotlight on the current debate over oil drilling in ANWR. Some want Alaska to remain static, others are in the vanguard of change. Alaska: Saga of a Bold Land shows that there are no easy answers on either side and that Alaska will always be crossing the next frontier. |
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By Shauna O'Reilly
Arcadia Publishing Released: 2009-05-18 Paperback (128 pages)
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Click Here | - ISBN13: 9780738571324
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Product Description: The Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition, held during the summer of 1909, was the first world's fair held in Seattle. Capitalizing on the popularity of the booming gold rush, the exposition was designed to showcase the riches of the Pacific Northwest and highlight trade with the Pacific Rim nations and beyond. Millions of visitors came to Seattle to experience the one-of-a-kind attractions, exhibits, and events held during the AY PE, which became the footprint for the modern University of Washington campus. Many of these visitors stayed to populate the growing metropolis. From the ornate European-style architecture to the fountains and gardens, the amusements of the Pay Streak, and the exotic Oriental exhibits, the AYPE entertained and educated while bringing needed business to Washington State. |
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By Alan J. Stein
History Link Hardcover (188 pages)
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Click Here | - ISBN13: 9780295989266
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Product Description: This richly illustrated and well-researched volume chronicles the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, held in Seattle in 1909. The 3.7 million visitors to the fair during its four-month run, on what was to become the University of Washington campus, beheld a cornucopia of exhibits housed in an astonishing collection of buildings and enjoyed the carnival-like - and sometimes controversial - entertainments of the Pay Streak midway. Starting with the Klondike Gold Rush in 1897, authors Alan J. Stein and Paula Becker recount in detail the history of the fair that brought Seattle and Washington into the national spotlight. The A-Y-P Exposition was a major community effort for a state that was only twenty years old. It was the first world's fair to make a profit, it provided a platform for advocates of woman suffrage, and it set the general plan for the University of Washington campus that endures to this day. |
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By William E. Griggs
University Press of Mississippi Hardcover (128 pages)
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The 97th Army Corps Engineers, an African American unit, worked extensively on completing the Alaska/ Canadian Highway, but the corps' substantial role in this project to defend North America from Japanese attack during World War II has received only scant attention. The Discovery Channel's recent television show about the Alcan Highway offered only brief mention of this unit's contribution. With this book William E. Griggs, the official photographer for the battalion, amends the long-neglected history. Documenting the record of its service, he took almost a thousand photographs as the 97th traveled from Fort Elgin, Florida, to Seattle and then to Port Valdez and into the interior of Alaska. Published here for the first time are more than a hundred of Griggs's black-and-white photographic images, along with captions he has written to explain the official work of the 97th. Showing members in social and camp life and in road construction and arranged in chronological sequence, the photographs are a record of the previously unproclaimed service these African Americans gave to the defense of their country. "This compelling collection of photographs," says historian Douglas Brinkley, whose introductory essay places Griggs and his work in historical context, "provides us the only visual documentation of which I am aware of the 97th's role. . . . Moreover, considering the scant availability of documents--visual or otherwise--pertaining to the 97th's unheralded contribution to the highway's creation, this collection of photographs really is a remarkable find." William E. Griggs (b. 1918) lives in Baltimore. He remains an avid photographer. Philip J. Merrill, a regular on PBS's Antiques Roadshow, is a leading authority on African American memorabilia and cultural artifacts. Douglas Brinkley, director of the Eisenhower Center for American Studies at the University of New Orleans, is the author of the American Heritage History of the United States, The Unfinished Presidency: Jimmy Carter's Journey Beyond the White House, and Rosa Parks. |
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Alaska Northwest Books Paperback (145 pages)
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Click Here | Amazon.com Review: An inspiring story of the Alaska Steamship Co. and the pioneers who navigated the hazardous waters of the northern travel lanes to serve the people of Alaska. With more than 100 historical black-and-white photographs. 160 pages. |
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By B. H. A Roderick
B. Roderick Unknown Binding (4 pages)
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