Salmon Politics

The most vocal opponent of statehood was the canned salmon industry. In one Congressional statehood hearing, the head of Alaska Airlines testified about pressure by the salmon industry to keep quiet, or else he would lose their business. Winton C. Arnold, who represented the canned salmon industry, was perhaps the most influential lobbyist in Alaska in the 1940s and 1950s. He became the most effective and articulate opponent of Alaska statehood.

Arnold typically did not say he opposed statehood. He made a habit, though, of pointing out obstacles, such as transportation problems and the need to settle Alaska Native land claims. He also said Alaska could not afford to become a state because of the additional burdens that it would place on its citizens. Since less than 1% of Alaska had been surveyed, it would take thousands of years for Alaska to acquire its land if a traditional land grant system was used with the granting of statehood, he said at one hearing.

However, Arnold's opposition ultimately helped Alaska. By explaining the problems with statehood bills before Congress in an attempt to stop them, Arnold's complaints forced Congress to resolve those issues. In that way, Arnold's stalling tactics improved the chances that the state would have the resources it needed for survival. The provisions eventually adopted by Congress gave the new state more than five times as much land as had been in some of the earlier proposals.

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