But for the people of alaska, one persistent vision was to become americans, a vision thwarted for 92 years by powerful commercial interests that ruled the territory from a distance and a federal government that seemed at best indifferent. In 1955, alaskans took a major step toward selfgovernment when they wrote the constitution they hoped would help make the territory a state. This is the story of that constitution and how alaskans won the right to govern themselves. In retrospect, i think we did as good a job as could have been done, and i think that the constitution has fully stood the test of time. It was designed to be adaptable to the future, to be a lasting document like the u. S. Constitution. Well, it was a big gamble, except it was a gamble we had to take because we wouldnt get another opportunity. They came here because they were trying to create, literally, a new world based upon lets do it right this time. That was heard more times at the convention. We dont care how you d