Legacy of The Wars

World War II and the Cold War left a lasting legacy on Alaska. Military and other government spending replaced fishing and mining as the most important economic sector. In 1939, before World War II, the U.S. military spent under $1 million in Alaska. In 1953, military spending peaked at over $500 million. Today, military and other federal government spending continues to be the most important sector of the state's economy. The federal government supports more jobs for Alaskans than any private industry, including oil and natural gas. Just over a third of Alaskans depend in some part on federal spending.

The wars also created the major cities of today's Alaska. Anchorage and Fairbanks were the principal Alaskan military bases. The military and construction personnel they brought in became the critical mass towards creating the two largest cities of modern Alaska. Most of the people who moved to Alaska after World War II settled in these larger communities. Many rural Alaskans moved to these cities as well for jobs and better access to goods and services. 

Anchorage grew the most. Its population ballooned from 3,000 in 1940 to 83,000 in 1960 as it became Alaska's population and economic center. Over this same period, the Fairbanks area grew from 4,000 to 43,000. The total population of Alaska tripled between 1940 and 1960, increasing from 72,000 to 230,000.

The development of Alaska's economy and rapidly expanding population would have another important consequence. The new immigrants added strength and numbers to the voices calling for statehood. With a growing population, expanding cities, and modernized infrastructure, Alaska felt like it was ready to become a state.

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