Category: Territorial Politics

• The Jewish State in Alaska

  This theory held that the Roosevelt administration planned to turn Alaska into a large Jewish settlement territory or proto-state under federal sponsorship. It drew on a real proposal associated with Interior Department discussions and the Slattery Report, which explored the possibility of resettling refugees and other groups in Alaska as part of a broader development program. Contemporary coverage made clear that the idea was under discussion, though it never became official policy in the form imagined by conspiracy rhetoric. In rumor form, however, the proposal was transformed into a hidden plan to create a “New Israel” in the far north under executive protection.

• The "Mormon Corridor" Blockade

  This theory claims that Brigham Young’s chain of Mormon settlements from Utah toward Southern California was not simply a migration and trade network, but part of a deliberate blockade plan meant to control the inland West and restrict non-Mormon movement toward California. In stronger versions, the theory says Young intended a fortified Mormon-controlled corridor, complete with stockades, canyon walls, and denied supplies for outsiders. The documented record shows real efforts to build and control a route to the Pacific, real concern about outside influence, and real military fortifications during the Utah War. What remains unproven is the claim that Young was building a literal wall or continuous barrier to stop all non-Mormons from reaching California.

• The "Astor" Fur Monopoly

  This theory claims that John Jacob Astor, while building his fur empire, entered into private arrangements with British or British-Canadian interests that went beyond commerce and amounted to a hidden partition plan for North America. In the strongest version, Astor is said to have coordinated with British power brokers so that American and British elites would divide the continent between them, with the Pacific Northwest and interior fur country effectively forming the western half of a managed Anglo-American order. The documented history does show that Astor made private deals with British-Canadian fur traders, used commerce to advance territorial influence, and operated in the middle of real Anglo-American boundary disputes. What remains unproven is the specific claim that he personally negotiated a secret treaty to split the United States in half.