Alaska+Purchase+-+Sam+and+Ann

=The Purchase of the 49th State Alaska (1867)  =


=Intro = The Alaska Purchase, also called **"Seward's Folly"** or **"Andrew Johnson's Ice Box"**, was a historical event that United States acquired the territory of Alaska (586,412 square miles (1,518,800 km²)) from Russia with a price of $7.2 million in 1867. The Purchase was mainly accomplished by Secretary of State //William Seward//.

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= = =How & Why? = Russia, having been in a difficult economic and financial situation, lacked in resources to support the primary settlement. This scarcity in financial resources basically worried Russians of losing Alaska without payment through future conflicts. Defeat in the Crimean War also further reduced Russian interest in this region. A decrease of interests and worries about losing Alaska without compensation led //Tsar Alexander II// to make a decision of selling the territory of Alaska.

With a decision of //Tsar Alexander II//, a Russian Minister of the United States, //Eduard de Stoecki//, started negotiations with Secretary of State //William Seward//. On March 3, 1867, the Purchase of Alaska took place with a price of $7.2 million. United States acquired Alaska in a cheap price, about 1.9¢ per acre ($4.74/km2). As a result of Purchase of Alaska, Russian expansion in North American religion ended and U.S. set themselves in the expansion of Pacific Northern region.

[[image:alaska_purchase width="285" height="155"]]
= = =Government approval = The treaty of purchase was approved by the Senate on April 9, 1867 and //President Andrew Johnson// signed the treaty on May 28, 1867. United States officially involved Alaska as a part of it on October 18, 1867. General attitudes towards the Purchase were quite positive; however, the Purchase was referred as **"Seward's folly"** or **"Andrew Johnson's polar bear garden"** proving that too much money is spent on the island of Alaska. Despite several negative opinions about the purchase, U.S. government was quite positive and satisfied with purchasing Alaska from Russia.

=Impact on Natives = Because Alaska is closest to Asia, it can be inferred that it was probably the first to be inhabited in the Americas after the Ice Age. Alaskan Natives are somewhat different to Native Americans on the mainland; they include the Inupiat, Tingit, Yupik, and the Eskimos.

Like many other natives of America, the natives of Alaska were mistreated by the settlers. As oil trade became a huge industry in the ice land, the natives suffered the consequences of the development. Not only was their territory being mistreated with the industrial pollution and sudden population, the homelands of the natives were taken away. Upon building the oil pipeline across Alaska, many natives were forced out of their lands and this was taken care through the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. The natives of Alaska were given 44 million acres (out of 375 million) where they could reside.


=Effect on the United States = America had bought the gigantic mass of land on the northern rim of the continent at the cost of $7.2 million, or around less than two cents per acre. Yet, many of US citizens were disappointed at William Seward's decision to purchase this land that they believed was a chunk of unproductive ice (the Alaska Purchase was also called "Seward's Folly" or "Seward's Ice Box"). However, it wasn't until decades later that the Americans realized Alaska's abundant resources and benefits.

In 1896, gold was discovered in Yukon Territory which was on the border of Alaska. The discovery of gold led thousands of settlers into Alaska and started the Klondike Gold Rush. This event led to the increase of both population and economic value of the state of Alaska that had been ignored for a long time. Even after the Klondike Gold Rush, many minor gold strikes followed, and as the state began to flourish, the Congress granted the Alaskans with a "non-voting representative to Congress".

However, other than gold there was a more crucial resource in Alaska that would benefit America... What is one natural resource that you could always correlate with the United States: //Oil//. In 1968, massive reserves of oil were discovered in Alaska near Prudhoe Bay; its size was twice of any oil field that had ever been found on the North American continent. In spite of the opposition of many environmentalists who pursued to maintain Alaska's untouched natural environment, in 1974 the trans-Alaska oil pipeline was built. The export of oil brought enormous riches and interest to the state. However, the prosperity had its negative effects as well. In 1989, occured "most devastating human-caused environmental disaster ever to occur at sea". The Exxon Valdez oil spill let 10 million barrels of oil into the waters of Prince William Sound. For years after, the thousands of miles of sea water was contaminated, countless sea animals were killed, and fishing became dangerous.

=Overall = So did the purchase of Alaska have an overall positive effect or a negative effect on America? I would definitely say positive. Although the claim of Alaska were unfortunate to some natural habitats and the natives, I believe that the economic benefits that the state brought to America would outweigh these costs, because the nature of Alaska still remains preserved for the most part today. Moreover, the purchase of Alaska is probably one of the major factors that has led America to its superpower state. Although Alaska was bought from Russia with merely two cents per acre, with its rich resources of gold, minerals, and oil, the profit that America gained from Alaska is enormous. Therefore, from the perspective of the Americans the Alaskan Purchase was seen as a highly profitable investment that would strengthen America's territory.

media type="youtube" key="Gf09-4r2oNU" height="344" width="425" A short/comical video clip of the Alaskan Purchase (Don't mind the lottery advertisement at the end!)

"Alaska purchase treaty (1867)." __American History__. 2009. ABC-CLIO. 26 Aug. 2009 .
Berry, Mary Clay. //The Alaska Pipeline: The Politics of Oil and Native Land Claims.// Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1975.

Images - [] - http://amhist.ist.unomaha.edu/module_files/Alaska.jpg - http://images.google.co.kr/imglanding?imgurl=http://history.state.gov/milestones/images/seward-william.jpg&imgrefurl=http://history.state.gov/milestones/1861-1865/Blockade&usg=__RhKiCySo0C3lDv-FsUXqPwRPj1g%3D&h=322&w=250&sz=22&hl=ko&um=1&tbnid=O04sUprXaQrlwM:&tbnh=118&tbnw=92&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dwilliam%2Bseward%26complete%3D1%26hl%3Dko%26lr%3D%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1%26newwindow%3D1&q=william+seward&complete=1&lr=&sa=N&um=1&newwindow=1&start=6 -http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Map_of_USA_highlighting_Alaska.png