Alaskan History 3: Before Statehood Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Who was the Secretary of State who received great criticism for successfully promoting the US purchase of Alaska from Russia?

Answer: William H. Seward

'Seward's Folly' and 'Seward's Icebox' were nicknames assigned to Alaska during and after the purchase. Charles Sumner was a senator from Massachusetts who as chair of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations was also instrumental in effecting the acquisition. Andrew Johnson, of course, was the president at the time of the purchase. Horace Greeley was one of the most notable critics of the purchase.

The famous newspaper man commented: "Except for the Aleutian Islands and a narrow strip of land extending along the southern coast the country would be not worth taking as a gift ..."

2. What date in 1867 was the US flag first officially flown in Alaska?

Answer: October 18

October 18 is now called Alaska Day and is a state holiday. March 30, 1867 was the date the treaty for purchase was signed with Russia. The holiday is now called Seward's Day and celebrated each final Monday of March. April 9 of 1867 was the date the treaty was approved by the US Senate. October 6, not October 17, was the last day of Russian ownership. Through the combination of the moving the International Dateline and a switch from the Julian calendar used by Russia to the Gregorian, Alaskan residents never lived through October 7-17, 1867. Curiously, October 6 and the next day October 18 were both Fridays.

3. One of the earliest explorations of Alaska was the result of a commercial survey effort. In an effort to link North America and Russia with telegraph cable, Western Union dispatched a survey expedition (including famed naturalists Robert Kennicott and W.H. Dall) to explore the possibilities of running the line through the Bering Strait to link with another Asian line. What river, the longest in Alaska, was fully mapped for the first time as the result of this expedition?

Answer: Yukon

The Yukon begins in British Columbia and empties into the Bering Sea some 2,300 miles further downstream. The 1,980 miles of the river that flow through Alaska have been a major transportation route in western North America, especially important during the Klondike Gold Rush. Kennicott' who died on the Yukon River during the expedition, is remembered by a river, glacier, and valley named for him in Alaska. Years after the expedition, W.H. Dall identified a white species of sheep in the area of Mt. McKinley.

These came to be known as Dall Sheep.

4. The discovery of gold in western Canada was a boon for Alaska because it provided the easiest route to the Klondike gold fields of Canada's Yukon territory. This resulted in the establishment of many new Alaskan cities. Con-artist Soapy Smith took control of one of these cities and formed the most famous criminal organization of Alaska's gold rush period. What was this city (now a borough) which is still a major tourist destination due in part to Smith's legacy?

Answer: Skagway

Skagway hosts some 900,000 tourists each summer season, many of whom visit the grave of Soapy Smith. Sitka is Alaska's fourth largest city and the former Russian capital of Alaska. Ruby was a mining boom town during the Alaska Gold Rush years after the height of the Yukon rush. Chilkoot is the name of a famous trail in Alaska, the primary route to the Yukon's Klondike gold fields.

5. Gold was discovered in northwest Alaska in 1899. Cities such as Fairbanks (Alaska's second largest city) were formed as stops on transportation routes to southern ports. The construction of the Alaska Railroad commenced in 1902 to connect Fairbanks to a port city in south central Alaska. What is its name?

Answer: Seward

The namesake of William H. Seward, Seward, Alaska is a city of just over 3,000. Its port was useful for freight arriving in and leaving the state, making it a logical end of the line for the railroad. Each summer tourist season brings hundreds of thousands of tourists there by cruise ship to access the Great Land at large, and locally to view scenic Kenai Fjords. Anchorage, eventually Alaska's largest city with its busiest port, is a stop on the Alaska Railroad line but not the terminus. Whittier, like Seward, is a popular port for cruise ships as it gives direct access to Prince William Sound. Nome is the site of the discovery of gold that prompted the Alaska Gold Rush in 1899.

6. In 1925, a diptheria epidemic in Nome, Alaska threatened to wipe out the entire population of the city and spread to the surrounding communities. An antitoxin serum had to be delivered but rough weather prevented safe or reliable air travel to the city. A relay of dog sleds was organized and braving the elements and hazardous terrain of the Iditarod Trail, the serum was delivered in time. The mushers became national heroes, but even more famous were their lead dogs. One of them became the subject of a animated film in 1995. What was the dog's name?

Answer: Balto

Balto and his team, driven by Norwegian musher Gunnar Kaasen, ran the last stretch of the trail, delivering the serum to Nome. Occupying this position of glory, Balto became the natural choice to receive the most attention of the many dogs involved in the effort. Togo, another lead dog on the Iditarod serum run, actually braved a more hazardous section of the trail, but got much more modest attention than Balto. Seppala is the last name of the musher who drove Togo's team. Yukon King is the fictional lead dog of Northwest Mounted Police Sergeant Preston from the radio and TV show.

7. Though founded as a headquarters for construction of the Alaska Railroad, Anchorage would come to rely heavily on air traffic. What airport located near the downtown would quickly become one of the busiest civilian aircraft venues in the US after it opened in 1930?

Answer: Merrill Field

Merrill Field gives thousands of private pilots convenient access to the remote areas of Alaska inaccessible by road or boat and is among the nation's foremost small plane airfields. Lake Hood in Anchorage is the busiest float plane airport in the world. Birchwood Airport is a small airport north of Anchorage. Alaska's largest airport renamed for its longtime US senator Ted Stevens is one of the busiest cargo hubs in the country.

8. During the Great Depression, Franklin Roosevelt, as part of his "New Deal" programs, relocated hundreds of agricultural families to a fertile valley north of Anchorage. What is this valley called?

Answer: Matanuska-Susitna Valley

The "Mat-Su" Valley is known for producing some of the biggest vegetables in the world. Though it has a short growing season, the long daylight hours of Alaskan summers allow cabbages to grow upwards of 60 lbs. The Tanana Valley is another agricultural area farther north in Alaska.

The Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes is a popular tourist attraction in Katmai National Park of southwest Alaska. The "smokes" emitting from the valley floor are the result of the eruption of Novarupta in 1912. Mendenhall is the valley that contains Juneau, the capital of Alaska.

9. Alaska contains the only US soil occupied by a foreign military during WWII. Imperial Japanese forces held Alaskan islands in the North Pacific for more than a year. To what island group do these formerly occupied islands of Attu, Agattu, and Kiska belong?

Answer: Aleutian Islands

The Aleutian "Chain" of islands stretches from mainland Alaska across most of the north Pacific toward the Kamchatka Peninsula of Russia. It was regarded as a strategic military position by both the US and Japan during the war in the Pacific. The Pribilof Islands in the Bering Sea are famous for fur seals, though since 1966 hunting there has been illegal.

The Kodiak Archipelago in the Gulf of Alaska contains Kodiak Island, the second largest island in the US. Two of Alaska's major cities, Sitka and Ketchikan are located in the Alexander Archipelago.

This group of islands on the Alaska Panhandle was at the heart of activity in Russian Alaska.

10. With the growing threat of Japanese invasion, the US Army prioritized construction of a supply road from Alaska through Canada connecting with the contiguous 48 states. Begun in March of 1942, approximately how long did the initial construction of this 1,522 mile Alaska-Canada Highway take?

Answer: 6.5-7 months

Finished in one summer construction season, road crews working from opposite directions met at Mile 588 on September 24, 1942. The highway was officially dedicated on November 20. The early days of private automobile travel on the "Alcan" Highway were, of course, the stuff of nightmares.

The road's length and remote route made it impossible to maintain properly with the technology of the day. Those days are largely past, however, and it has been completely paved.

Source: Author chikal98

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
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What do you know about the nearly 100 years between the purchase of Alaska from Russia and statehood?

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