Happy Centennial to the Territory of Alaska

In April of 1912, a little debate was going on in the House of Representatives. A congressman stood, and said something that changed the course of history.

“The time has gone by when all women looked after the kitchen and the dining room. Now they go into offices, school rooms and factories, where they do a man’s work, and they should have the same economic and political rights as men. . .”

And so at the insistance of Victor Berger,  a socialist Congressman from Milwaukee, the Alaska legislature was empowered to give women the right to vote, and they did as their very first act.

The law creating the Territory of Alaska was signed by President Taft on August 24, 1912 – one hundred years ago today.

Legislators said that women had proven themselves in Alaska and did much to support its development. Others believed that allowing women to vote was important because it would increase the number of voters, which would impress government officials who questioned the stability and the future of Alaska. Sen. Henry Roden of Iditarod said it was an easy issue to deal with because it did not “cost any member anything, nor their friends.”

Note to the Alaska that exists a hundred years later: Granting controversial and equal rights to a group that has been deprived of them is OK.

The action of the Territorial Legislature was lauded by supporters of women’s suffrage in the States.

The Seattle Sun commented that “Alaska is nothing if not progressive.”

Almost eight years later, on August 18, 1920, the federal government caught up, and after the 19th Amendment was signed, women gained the right to vote on a national level. One wonders how long it would have taken for all 50 states to allow voting equality for women if the federal government hadn’t intervened to hurry those states along. I’m glad Alaska was progressive enough to do it on its own.

That very first Legislature was made up of five lawyers, one doctor, five businessmen, one fisherman and eleven miners. They met in the Elks Hall in Juneau, as there was no government building.

Women’s suffrage wasn’t the only thing on their to-do list. They also instituted a $4 (about 75 today) head tax on all men between 21 and 50 who were not volunteer firemen. (Yes! A tax!) And they used the money to build roads. (Yes! Infrastructure projects!) They regulated banks (Regulation!) They made school attendance mandatory, and allowed local governments to enforce rules for health and sanitation. (Public education, the commons, and more regulation!) They limited the work day to eight hours for hard rock miners. (Workers’ rights!) And they approved plans for what became the first Alaska Pioneer Home, designed to help poor prospectors. (State aid for the indigent!)

Oh, and they requested a whole bunch of federal money to build the railroad.

I think I’ve made my point.

So Happy Centennial, Alaskans!  Remember our roots make us strong.

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