Oct. 18 marks Alaska Day – the anniversary of the 1867 ceremony in Sitka when one flag came down, and another went up. The Russian flag of the Tsar’s empire was lowered, and the American flag was raised, signifying the transfer of Alaska from Russia to the United States.
It was, in every sense, the original “No Kings Day.”
At the time, Russia was ruled by Tsar Alexander II, the Emperor of Russia from 1855 until his assassination in 1881. He was, quite literally, a king. It was Alexander II who authorized the sale of Alaska, known then as Russian America. The Treaty of Cession was signed on March 30, 1867, and by October, the deal was done.
Why did Russia sell? The Crimean War had drained the empire’s treasury, and Alaska was seen as a remote, expensive outpost, difficult to defend, impossible to profit from, and vulnerable to seizure by the British. Alexander II decided to cut his losses and cash out.
That decision, made by a monarch, marked Alaska’s passage from a land ruled by a king to one belonging to a republic founded on the idea that there are no kings.
And yet today, a group of self-styled activists has tried to rebrand this date as “No Kings Day” – a protest against America’s supposed monarchy.
One has to wonder if any of them have actually read a history book. The irony is rich: they are shouting “No Kings!” on the very day when Alaska literally stopped being ruled by one.
If they were paying attention, they’d see that Alaska Day already celebrates liberation from a monarchy. It’s the day when Alaskans – and Americans – can remember that our system of government is not ruled by a royal class, but by citizens who elected a president with a certain set of values and an unmistakable flair for communicating. But since this is a national movement, the No Kings, 50501, Indivisible, and anarchists don’t make the connection.
Meanwhile, Russia today is once again involved in war over the Crimean region, the same geopolitical theater that strained Alexander II’s empire over 150 years ago. Russia doesn’t have a tsar anymore, but with a president who has held power for a quarter of a century, it’s hard to miss the resemblance.
Alaska, on the other hand, remains firmly American – a land bought from a king, now home to free people.
So on Oct. 18, let’s celebrate what the day really means: the moment Alaska joined a nation that has no kings, and doesn’t need any frog cosplay protesters to remind us of that.
One thought on “The original ‘No Kings Day’: Alaska Day”
I watched a couple news reports about various No Kings protests this afternoon. The reporters would ask the protesters what they are protesting and they virtually all had the same answer that they were protesting having No Kings in America and that they support the Constitution, I was embarrassed for them since they were clearly repeating lines they were told to say. Seriously you are at a protest called No Kings and you are protesting having No Kings…who would have thought it?
If these people were actually opposed to authoritarianism and having Kings in America they should have been in protest mode during the authoritarian subversion of our Constitutional Republic that was the Obama/Biden/Harris Administration. In reality, these people are upset that they didn’t get their way and they FEEL like the only way they express themselves is to march in the streets with either silly or outright anti-American signs and flags.