Selling Statehood

Statehood bills were introduced again in 1949 and 1952, but both failed. National politics entered into the picture. Republicans feared that Alaska would send Democrats to Congress, which could tip the scales of power. Southern Democrats feared new members from Alaska might support the growing movement for civil rights for African Americans.

In 1953, Sen. Hugh Butler of Nebraska, a statehood opponent, announced that his committee would hold hearings in Alaska. He said he didn't want to hear from "just a few aspiring politicians who want to be senators and representatives but from the "little people" of Alaska.

A group of supporters that formed with the name "Little Men For Statehood" turned out in support of statehood at Butler's 1953 hearings. Signs popped up in Anchorage store windows that said, "I'm a Little Man Who Wants Statehood." Women agreed. Margaret Rutledge of Anchorage told a story of how she had been on her way to the inauguration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower when she was reminded of the second-class status of Alaskans. At the Seattle airport, she had to go through immigration procedures, which she said was humiliating. Before ending her testimony in tears, Rutledge told the senators that a "degrading influence had robbed me of the thing I value most--my birthright as an American."

The statehood movement developed strong support among average Alaskans in the 1950s, who joined grassroots organizations such as Operation Statehood and the John Q. Citizen campaign.

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