Governor Palin’s Alaska

You hear a lot about Alaska these days. Up until Palin was nominated as McCain’s running mate most of us knew little about Alaska. I don’t know about you, but after seeing reports come out of Alaska I want to someday see this great state.

On this day in 1867 the U.S. formally took possession of Alaska after buying it from Russia for less than two cents an acre (7.2 million). The entire purchase consisted of 586,412 square miles, that’s twice the size of Texas! William Henry Seward secretary of state under President Andrew Johnson championed the purchase.

I don’t know that Seward had to do much convincing though, Russia didn’t really want it; Russia thought it was too remote, sparsely populated and difficult to defend. Russia decided to sell it rather than lose it in battle with Great Britain. Negotiations began between Seward and Russian minister to the U.S. Eduard de Stoeckl. The American public at the time thought it was a joke to buy Alaska because they believed the land to be barren and worthless and coined the state “Seward’s Folly,” and “Andrew Johnson’s Polar Bear Garden.” But since this president was so unpopular at the time, anything he endeavored was unfavorable to the public. This president had an uphill battle with the congress to get the Alaska deal ratified.

The public’s attitude changed about Alaska once gold was found in a tributary of Alaska’s Klondike River in 1886, which sparked a gold rush. Alaska became the 49th state in January 3, 1959 and it is now known for its vast natural resources. About 25% of America’s oil and 50% of its seafood come from Alaska. Although Alaska is a large state it still remains sparsely populated. Its name comes from the Aleut (Native Americans) word “alyeska,” which means “great land.”

If the people of the past could see the future, do you think they’d feel the same about the Alaska purchase? I think not.