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Okla-homey
10/18/2010, 06:25 AM
October 18, 1867: Seward's Folly

143 years ago on this day in 1867, the U.S. formally takes possession of Alaska after purchasing the territory from Russia for $7.2 million, or less than two cents an acre. The Alaska purchase comprised 586,412 square miles, about twice the size of Texas, and was championed by William Henry Seward, the enthusiasticly expansionist secretary of state under President Andrew Johnson.

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Signing the Alaska Treaty of Cessation, L. to R. Robert S. Chew, Secretary of State William H. Seward, William Hunter, Mr. Bodisco, Russian Ambassador Baron de Stoeckl, Charles Sumner, Fredrick W. Seward

On March 30, 1867, U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward signed a treaty with Russia for the purchase of Alaska for $7 million. Despite the bargain price of roughly two cents an acre, the Alaskan purchase was ridiculed in Congress and in the press as "Seward's folly," "Seward's icebox," and President Andrew Johnson's "polar bear garden."

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William H. Seward

The czarist government of Russia, which had established a presence in Alaska in the mid-18th century, first approached the United States about selling the territory during the administration of President James Buchanan, but negotiations were stalled by the outbreak of the Civil War.

After 1865, Seward, a supporter of territorial expansion, was eager to acquire the tremendous landmass of Alaska, an area roughly one-fifth the size of the rest of the United States. He had some difficulty, however, making the case for the purchase of Alaska before the Senate, which ratified the treaty by a margin of just one vote on April 9, 1867.

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The check

When Alaska was formally handed over from Russia to the United States on this day in 1867, there was not much interest among Americans in moving up there. Despite a slow start in U.S. settlement, the discovery of gold in 1898 brought a rapid influx of people to the territory, and Alaska, rich in natural resources, has contributed to American prosperity ever since.

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Crucifax Autumn
10/18/2010, 07:08 AM
Good thing they didn't have cloture votes back then!

TUSooner
10/18/2010, 11:07 AM
I heard you can see Russia from there.

Sooner5030
10/18/2010, 11:13 AM
Cпасибо

stoopified
10/18/2010, 11:16 AM
They shouldda cut it in half,made two states.That way Texas would be the THIRD largest state( behind East and West Alaska).