- Alaska was first made into a district on October 18, 1867. The district became an organized territory on August 24, 1912, and finally became the forty-ninth state on January 3, 1959, after Arizona and before Hawaii.
- Alaska was purchased from Russia through the negotiations of William Henry Seward, secretary of state under President Lincoln. Our government paid $7.2 million dollars for the land (2 cents per acre). Many Americans at the time called the purchase “Seward’s Folly”, regarding Alaska as an icy wasteland. As it turns out Alaska thrives in mining, is rich in oil and draws much tourism.
- Population, as of 2009, is 698,473.
- Senators are Mark Begich (D) and Lisa Murkowski (R).
- Representative is Donald Young (R).
- Alaska has 3 electoral votes. It has been a red state since it joined the union excluding the presidential election of 1964, voting for democrat Barry Goldwater.
- Alaska is more than twice the size of Texas and possesses more than half the world’s active glaciers. The state is larger than England, France, Italy and Spain combined, yet if its population density were applied to New York City, only 16 people would be living in Manhattan.
The polls open up tomorrow for the election of local officials here in Lafayette, Louisiana. Many people fail to vote for even Senators or Representatives, or even for the President of the United States (I used to be one of them), but get out there and make a difference. Do some research. I know voting is the last thing on a lot of people’s minds because it may not seem important, but look at it like a cold, clear glass of refreshing water. You never fully appreciate how good water tastes or how vital it is until you are forced to drink a warm cup of murky water filled with impurities. If you ever lost your right to vote you would cringe like you had just took a sip of that rusty, parasitic water. Appreciate and utilize your right to vote. People died for it.
1.996.0 miles to go.
1.996.0 miles to go.
