Alaska Territory's at-large congressional district

Alaska Territory's at-large congressional district
Obsolete district
Created1906, as a non-voting delegate was granted by Congress
Eliminated1959, as a result of statehood
Years active1906–1959
Alaska Territory, 1912–1959

Alaska Territory's at-large congressional district (also District of Alaska's at-large congressional district) was a congressional district created in 1906 to represent the District of Alaska, which was reorganized into the Alaska Territory in 1912. After Alaska's admission to the Union as the 49th state by act of Congress on January 3, 1959, this district evolved into Alaska's at-large congressional district.

In the years following the Alaska Purchase, Alaskans held a series of political conventions focused on sending a representative to the U.S. Congress. The purpose was to lobby mainly for representation in the body, in similar fashion to the later application of the Tennessee Act to lobby for Alaskan statehood, but also for greater autonomy for Alaska. The first convention, held in 1881, saw a non-partisan group send a Democrat (M. D. Ball) to Washington, who worked with a Republican senator (Benjamin Harrison) to craft the organic act which created the District of Alaska. Ball and several subsequent individuals were unable to convince Congress to grant the District a delegate, however. Events changed as the population of Alaska increased around the turn of the 20th century, mainly on account of immigration due to gold rushes.

On May 7, 1906, an act of Congress gave the District of Alaska the authority to elect a Congressional delegate.[1][2][3] On August 24, 1912, the District of Alaska was reorganized into an organized incorporated territory and continued to elect delegates until Alaska became a state in 1959.[1]

  1. ^ a b "A history of Alaska's primary elections". Alaska Division of Elections. September 2000. Retrieved April 28, 2010.[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ "Biographical Directory of the United States Congress". United States Congress. Archived from the original on April 23, 2010. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
  3. ^ "House History". Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives. Archived from the original on April 24, 2010. Retrieved April 26, 2010.

© MMXXIII Rich X Search. We shall prevail. All rights reserved. Rich X Search