I found it interesting that many of the issues facing the Territory of Alaska are similar to the issues that the State of Alaska is still facing. Compare the issues Mark Begich is pushing compared to what was read in the excerpt from the book.
Most interesting is the comment on page 40. What do you think Gruening had on his mind and what do you think he meant by the comment " Our coast extends to the naked-eye visibility of Asia from which will arise some of our greatest and most pressing problems in the generations to come.".
What was Gruening concerned about: the oceans natural resources, war, influx of new people? His experience with the Japanese invasion on the Aleutian chain or perhaps the knowledge that controlling the coastline against foreign fisheries was going to be a costly venture.
I had some of the same thoughts regarding the excerpts from The Battle for Alaska statehood. There seem to be many of the same issues still plaguing Alaskans. I find it a little unsettling, that some of these issues haven’t been resolved.
ReplyDeleteI also thought the quote on page 40 was very interesting. I think Gruening was worried about the threat of another invasion. After the Japanese invasion of the Alution islands, it may have sparked some fear that Alaska would be vulnerable to more attacks.
Interesting. I hadn't given this one a lot of thought before but I suppose we have to go back to 1948 to guess since that was the time those words were spoken. I think the Japanese threat was very visceral at the time. Prejudice was rampant and accepted in the country - Japanese
ReplyDeleteAmericans were put in camps away from the shoreline and all their possessions taken away. While growing up there was a Japanese couple that had been interned living down the street. It seemed very odd to me and still does.
At this time is the additional issue of the developing Cold War and our fear of communism with Russia at our doorstep. This was the dynamic that occurred at the time with Stalin occupying much of Eastern Europe and the world becoming divided into the US vs. Russia as European nations were in very poor shape. So it could be the combination of fears from both Russia and Japan in 1948.
Fast forward to 1990's (around that time maybe) and the concern is one of economic opportunity in China in addition to the fear of economic dominance by China. I doubt that was on his mind at the time.
No doubt Alaska is a strategic location for many foreign countries. The context of the moment the statement was said is always important to ensure the intent is understood correctly. The scholarly approach in indeed the way it should be approached. Sometimes I like to imagine these ideals are more insightful as history marches on. For instance what would the world and the U.S. be like if we had listened to George Washington when he warned future generations "not to become involved with entangling alliances". Was he envisioning such alliances like: World Trade Organization, NATO, U.N. etc.
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