Chapter 6 Outline (I put everything I found interesting into the outline)

Chapter 6. NORMALCY, THE DEPRESSION, AND THE NEW DEAL

I.               Warren G. Harding

a.     succeeded Wilson as president in 1921

b.     His administration was scandalous and he hated his job

c.      He was the first president to visit the territory as he went to Nenana in 1923 to drive the golden spike completing the Alaska Railroad

d.     Believed Alaska’s resources should be used to benefit settlers and not outside speculators

e.     Provided great support for Alaska

II.             The Salmon Fisheries

a.     The commercial era of the fisheries did not begin until Americans showed up

b.     Little capital available to make the heavy investments necessary to build canneries and carry on fishing operations

c.      They were warned about overfishing

d.     Congress forbade the damming of streams to catch fish in 1889

e.     In the 1890’s scientists were convinced that artificial propagation was the answer to fixing the dwindling salmon runs

f.      A regulations that required each fishing company to establish hatcheries and “return red salmon to the spawning grounds at the rate of at least four times the number of fish taken the preceding season” was created

g.     The secretary of commerce was given the authority to regulate fishing within 500 yards of the mouths of rivers and streams

h.     The Bureau of Fisheries and the Department of Commerce resisted any suggestions that the territory be given a voice in the management of the salmon fisheries

i.       Secretary Hoover accompanied president Harding to Alaska and held hearing in several towns

j.       In 1924 the White Act was passed

                                               i.     Gave the secretary of commerce the authority to limit or prohibit fishing in all territorial waters of Alaska

                                              ii.     Fix the size and character but not the amount of fishing gear

                                            iii.     At least 50% of the fish be allowed to escape

k.     Packers loved Hoover

III.           The Alaska Railroad

a.     The fist great construction project initiated by the federal government

b.     Cost $65 million

c.      Ruined steamboat companies forever

d.     Didn’t get much business and thusly cost a lot

e.     Planes became popular and carried freight, mail, and people to isolated areas

IV.            The “Twilit Twenties”

a.     New president Calvin Coolidge thought that Alaska was a waste of time and money

b.     Focused more on business than agriculture

c.      Alaska population was about the same as was the economy

d.     Mining productions were slowed down because the demand for copper ended when the war years ended

e.     The postwar slump raised the demand for salmon again

f.      The value of furs went up

V.              Alaska in the Great Depression

a.     Employment in the mines went downhill

b.     Value of salmon fell

c.      The expansion of the lumber industry halted

d.     Alaska’s share of the new deal was little to nothing because it was only a territory

e.     The president decided to devalue the dollar and raise the price of gold which helped the development of Alaska

f.      The WPA gave employment to people on the relief rolls

g.     The PWA sponsored public undertakings in which private contractors employed men and women at the prevailing community wage rates

h.     The CCC built bridges, roads, warehouses, small-boat facilities, a trout hatchery, a dock and small boat harbor, drainage ditches, community wells, and landing fields.

VI.            New Fisheries

a.     The union insisted that packers should pay the nonresident fishermen four cents more per fish than they paid the residents and that the nonresidents should receive most of the available fishermen’s jobs

b.     Alaskans were hostile to outside forces of labor, capital, and government.

c.      Regulation of salmon pretty much failed

VII.          The Matanuska Colony

a.     Roosevelt moved 201 family to Alaska and gave them land to farm on

b.     It cost 5 million

c.      31 percent of the original settlers and 43 percent of the replacements were still living in the colony in 1948

d.     many Alaskans spoke of the need to settle Alaska, but they were reluctant and hostile whenever there was any discussion of finding new settlements in the territory.

VIII.        The “New Deal” for Native Peoples

a.     Natives are given more land of reservations as a means of furthering their welfare

b.     The Indian Reorganization Act enabled several Native American communities to incorporate and to draw up constitutions for self-government.

c.      Loans extended to a number of villages allowed them to set up canneries

d.     Individual fishermen borrowed money to purchase boats and gear for themselves

e.     The most controversial aspect of the program was the one that contemplated the creation of reservations and a system of communal land tenure

What comes after the gold rush? How is Alaska changed by it?

After the gold rush, Alaska continued to expand and become more developed. The railroad was built, mines grew and shrunk depending on the economy and war situations. Fishing became a huge part of the economy and also a very controversial subject in legislature. The gold rush created many more jobs and thusly the population increased.

Elizabeth Peratrovich (I accidentally posted it on my English blog)

Elizabeth Peratrovich was born in Petersburg in 1911. She was key in the native rights movement between WWI and WWII. She became the president of the Alaska Native Sisterhood, while her husband, Roy Peratrovich, was the president of the Alaska Native Brotherhood. In 1941, Peratrovich moved to Juneau. She and her husband were keen to live in a nice neighborhood and were nearing lease arrangements when the owner was informed that they were native. The owner, in response, told Elizabeth and Roy they couldn’t live in that house. Elizabeth testified in front of the territorial senate before they voted on The Anti-Discrimination Act. It is assumed that her speech was the turning point for the act, and it passed 11 to 5. In celebration of her work in ending native rights, the Alaska Legislature approved creating a state holiday in her name. Unfortunately, Elizabeth died of cancer on December 1, 1958. Her husband died around one week before the first Elizabeth Peratrovich Day, on February 7, 1989. Elizabeth Peratrovich day is celebrated throughout Alaska every year on February 16.

CHAPTER 5 QUESTIONS: THE GREAT GOLD RUSH

 1. Outline the Yukon Gold Rush make sure to include the routes to Klondike, Canadian Requirements, and the development of Skagway.

A. Outline

            i. Some guys found gold in the Yukon

ii. News reached the lower 48 of gold

            iii. Everyone scrambles after it

            iv. 3 different ways to reach the Klondike:

1. Starting in Seattle/San Fran/Vancouver and going up the west coast by ship to St. Michael, then taking steamboats up the Yukon river – more expensive, less physical work

                        2. Up the Chikoot trail – shorter but steeper

                        3. White Pass – animals could be taken but it was dangerous for them

B. Canadian Requirements – miners had to prove they had one year’s worth of food and supplies at the border

C. Development of Skagway – it was a seaport and the beginning of the White Pass trail. It was the supply center and became largely populated during the Gold Rush.

2. Who was Soapy Smith?
A con man/gangster who had many elaborate scams and basically ran the criminal element in Skagway.

3. Outline the Nome Gold Rush.
A. On September 22, 1898 gold was found in Anvil Creek near Nome

B. It wasn’t until October of 1899 that it boomed

C. Gold was found on the beaches

D. People were fighting over claims

E. People were unlawful and morally corrupt

4. Outline the gold rush in Fairbanks.
A. Felix Pedro found gold on July 22, 1902

B. ET Barnette established a trading post on Chena River

C. Barnette’s cook went to Dawson with a load of furs and talked about how great Fairbanks was and the gold

D. 800 men came to Fairbanks from Dawson

E. no food

F. Men couldn’t find anything because they didn’t know what they were doing and the gold was deeper than in the Klondike

G. Small Companies dominated the area because they were the ones with the equipment needed

H. Fairbanks became the HQ for the third judicial district

5. Who was Judge Wickersham?
He chose Fairbanks as the HQ for the 3^rd judicial district. He pretty much ran Alaska.

6. How did all these gold rushes change Alaska?
They populated the state, brought attention to Alaska, encouraged development, and increased congressional attention.

Klondike Gold Rush

Nome Gold Rush

Fairbanks Gold Rush

CHAPTER 4 QUESTIONS: SALE OF ALASKA

 1. In what year did the United States take possession of Alaska?

1867

2. What was Seward’s role in Alaska?

Seward advocated for the purchase of Alaska. He had a vigorous campaign to persuade the senate to ratify the purchase

3. What two names did Juneau previously have?

Harrisburg and Rockford

4. How much money was Alaska sold for?

$7.2 million for the colony and the property of the Russian-American Company

5. What was the point of the Western Union telegraph scheme?

The Western Union’s dealings in Alaska were to establish telegraphic communication between the United States and Europe. They would have a telegraph line going across the Bering Strait. The project was demolished when the Transatlantic Cable was successfully created.

6. Why did white miners loathe Chinese workers?

On top of being quite racist, they also had a problem with how the Chinese would work for lower wages than the whites were willing to accept and the docile nature of their oriental counterparts. They hated Treadwell and they hated the Chinese workers for making Treadwell wealthier.

7. What are some good things about the Alaska Commercial Company?

They treated natives well, provided schools and medical services, and maintained law and order. However, they were criticized for wanting to keep Alaska fairly unsettled and for themselves.

8.  Why was military rule in Alaska so short?

It was boring, they had no real authority, and they weren’t doing anything to help. They were eventually pulled out because it was a waste of time for everything.

9. Why did Sitka fail?

It became the capitol and was full of great shops, but they had no commerce and there wasn’t enough business to keep everything running. People had to move out because services were not being provided.

10. What was the Organic Act?

It provided the first civil government for Alaska. It allowed the president to appoint the officials of the Alaskan government if approved by the Senate. The district court judge was in charge of interpreting the Oregon code in Alaska. The governor had no purpose. A district attorney, a marshal, four assistants, and the clerk of the court were in charge of law enforcement.