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Title: Immigration Quotas and Immigrant Skill Composition: Evidence from the Frontier, 1910-1940

Citation Type: Conference Paper

Publication Year: 2011

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Abstract: This paper aims to shed light on the characteristics of those who moved to Alaska prior to the development of the territory. Most migrants were drawn to Alaska by the burgeoning gold industry. Other prospectors followed to provide lodging, banking and other amenities. These early Alaskans gained a reputation for being exceptionally resilient. Newspapers were quick to praise the heroism of Alaskans who were in constant battle with their natural environment. Despite romanticized stories of adventure and instant fortune, it was not uncommon for prospectors to freeze to death, starve, drown or commit suicide (Berton, 1958). Frostbite, scurvy and tuberculosis also posed common threats. This paper answers two questions about migration to frontier regions. First, in light of the many dangers life in Alaska presented, what type of people chose to migrate to Alaska in the early 1900s? Second, did the evolution of national immigration policies during the 1920s affect the skill composition of migrants to the Last Frontier and the contiguous US?

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Authors: Massey, Catherine

Conference Name: Canadian Network for Economic History

Publisher Location: University of Ottawa, Canada

Data Collections: IPUMS USA

Topics: Migration and Immigration

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