Seward’s Folly

The Untold Story: When Did the US Get Alaska and Why It Changed America Forever

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The Untold Story: When Did the US Get Alaska and Why It Changed America Forever

The purchase of Alaska in 1867 was a transaction that baffled contemporaries and reshaped the nation’s destiny. When the U.S. acquired Alaska from Russia for just $7.2 million—a mere two cents per acre—many Americans scoffed, dubbing it “Seward’s Folly” after Secretary of State William H. Seward. Yet, within decades, this vast, icy wilderness would prove … Read more

When Did US Buy Alaska? The Bold Deal That Reshaped America

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When Did US Buy Alaska? The Bold Deal That Reshaped America

The ink had barely dried on the Treaty of Paris in 1867 when Secretary of State William H. Seward signed another document that would redefine America’s borders—and its identity. For a fraction of what critics called “Seward’s Folly,” the U.S. acquired 586,412 square miles of wilderness, a transaction so controversial it nearly derailed Seward’s political … Read more