Monument to Alexander II Open in Petersburg Russia Info-Centre He might have been a bit dim when it came to real estate, but not such a bad autocrat all-in-all.
Alaska taking steps to deal with warming Baltimore Sun Climate change threatens the survival of some coastal Alaskan villages.
Drained lake holds record of ancient Alaska The Tundra Drums Seems Alaska wasn't always so frigid.
Seward House celebrates significant women in Auburn's history The Citizen (Auburn, N.Y.) The keepers of William Seward's home find accomplishment runs in the family.
March 28, 2008
We can only imagine how the real estate ad would have read, had there been such things at the time:
LIMITLESS POTENTIAL!
Dreaming of expansion? Eager to manifest a little destiny? Then you may be among the select few equipped to appreciate this land offering. 586,412 square miles of prime real estate in transitioning neighborhood. Includes diverse topography, mineral rights (gold, silver, strange black liquid), stunning wildlife diversity. Minimal development, but what potential! Motivated seller needs funds to conquer Poland. 2 cents per acre OBO. No financing.
Which still might not have looked like much of a deal in 1867, when U.S. Secretary of State William Seward began negotiating with Russia to purchase Alaska. The empire had exerted nominal control of the territory since 1741, when fur-trapping expeditions began exploring the Bering Strait. But the Russian-American Company had done little to colonize the vast expanses. Tsar Alexander II was becoming increasingly concerned about an unfriendly neighbor, particularly Britain, taking over the region. And there were those pesky Crimean War debts to pay off.
Seward, representing Pres. Andrew Johnson, pursued the purchase as boon to American strategic interests, particularly in advertising that North America was closed to European expansionism. All that timber, mineral wealth, fish and fur might prove useful, too, he argued.
After only a few weeks of negotiation, Seward had gotten the Russians down to $7.3 million (about 1.9 cents per acre) and had reasonable assurance Congress would cut a check in that amount. The purchase was concluded March 30.
The ridicule began the next day. Newsman Horace Greely thundered that the United States already had more undeveloped land than it could effectively administer. The New York World characterized the land as already played out of animal furs, its only conceivable source of value. The territory gained nicknames such as "Seward's Folly," "Seward's Icebox" and Pres. Johnson's "polar bear garden."
At first, the naysayers looked like they might have a point. Alaska was remote and incredibly difficult to get to. There were only two towns of more than 100 people. And talk about cold!
The Klondike gold rush of the 1890s started to chase off the naysayers, however. Alaska began generating such mineral wealth that it was deemed fit for territorial status in 1912. The western reaches of the state became important outposts during World War II. But the real boom started in 1968, when oil was discovered in Prudhoe Bay and Alaska quickly became one of the most significant sources of domestic oil production.
Nowadays, Alaska boasts a population of slightly more than 625,000, one of the highest median incomes in the country ($54,000 per capita), scenic splendor that attracts nearly 2 million visitors every summer and a land mass bigger than all but 18 sovereign nations.
Was Seward's purchase a good deal? Maybe one of the best deals ever? Let us count the ways modern-day Alaskans could easily pay off the state's purchase price:
Sorry, Russia. I think we're keeping it.
Horace Greeley, Brilliantly Eccentric Editor of the New York Tribune About.com - 19th Century History He was wrong about Alaska, but he was brilliantly correct on most everything else.
How big is Alaska really? Digg Big. Really big. As demonstrated by a nice new visual aid from the U.S. Marshall there.
A Living History Northerngirl Alaska's history, told in glorious black-and-white.
Happy Seward's Day Fudgie in Juneau Alaska still celebrates the purchase with an official holiday.
A Sucked Orange Faux Elefant Besides the entire 19th century American press, William Seward also managed to run afoul of an Alaskan native community.
Which puchase was the best real estate deal ever?
27% 20% 40% 13%
As a person who works in real estate, I couldn't have written a better ad to sell Alaska.
Return on investment (ROI) is critical to a commercial real estate investor. The benefits must also outweigh the disadvantages. I think the ROI and benefits from Alaska justifies the "folly". The discovery of gold in Alaska is similar to buying a parcel of land and discovering oil below the surface and finding you own the mineral rights.
The discovery of oil in Alaska is like owning that same parcel after your well runs dry and realizing that your land is where they want to develope a new high rise building. (and the developer can't use eminent domain). The issue then is how long you have to wait for the right amount of zeros after the number of dollars on the check.
Classify this under "seemed like a good idea at the time." I'm sure Russia came to regret their decision, even if their own land provided ample natural resources. I wonder how Seward's detractors would have reacted upon learning of the economic boon of that "folly".
"Alaska" came from an Aleut word for "great land," though some believe the Aleut word meant "mainland," referred to it by those residing on the Alaska Peninsula.
Sometimes you have to make a huge risk to make things change for the better, or worse depending on how you look at it. Thats what makes a good leader, someone who can look at what people want and then make a decision based on what they need. Andrew Johnson, I think, knew deep down what this land would eventually offer to the American people, and he couldn't have been more right. The states very own motto "North to the Future" proves that concluesively. The motto was chosen in 1967 during the Alaska Purchase Centennial and was created by Juneau newsman Richard Peter. The motto is meant to represent Alaska as a land of promise.
Something to keep in mind "North to Alaska" was a 1960 Western-comedy movie featuring John Wayne as a turn-of-the-century prospector sent from White Mountain, "just a little southeast of Nome," to fetch his partner's sweetheart from Seattle. When he finds the sweetheart already married, he invites a beautiful dancer to be her replacement -- and he falls in love with her himself. The movie's ballad, also called "North to Alaska," became a hit in 1960 for Johnny Horton.