Today in U.S. history: On March 30, 1867 the United States acquired Alaska from Russia. The 586,412 square miles worth of land cost the U.S. $7.2 million. The Alaska purchase marked the end of Russian efforts to expand trade and settlements to the Pacific coast of North America. Further, this allowed the U.S. to rise as a great power in the Asia-Pacific region.
History
Beginning in 1725, Czar Peter the Great sent Vitus Bering to explore what is now the Alaska coastline. Not surprisingly, Russia had a keen interest in the land as it was rich with natural resources and lightly habited. However, the United States was expanding westward by the 1800s. Therefore, Americans began to compete with the Russian explorers and traders.
Russia offered to sell the land to the United States in 1859, but the looming Civil War halted the effort. After the war, Secretary of State William Seward quickly responded to a renewed offer from Russia on March 30. Then, on April 9, the Senate approved the Treaty of Purchase. President Andrew Johnson signed the treaty on May 28. Finally, the United States formally acquired the land of Alaska on October 18, 1867.
Post Purchase
Some newspapers—particularly Horace Greeley’s New York Tribune—despised the decision. The names assigned to the incident were “Seward’s Icebox,” “Seward’s Folly,” and “Walrussia.” Though most Americans were ambivalent; some supported the decision as a step toward the annexation of Canada. Finally, Secretary Seward was vindicated when the Klondike Gold Fields were discovered in the Yukon in 1896.
For three decades after its purchase the United States paid little attention to Alaska. The land was governed under military, naval, or Treasury rule or, at times, no visible rule at all. The strategic importance of Alaska was finally recognized in World War II. Consequently, Alaska became a state on January 3, 1959.
The Merdes Law Firm has been helping injured Alaskans for more than 30 years. It’s who we are. And while we hope you never need us … We’re here if you do. ~ Ward Merdes
Sources: Library of Congress; Office of the Historian; Britannica; History.com
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