"The Purchase of Alaska: Folly or Fantastic?

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On October 18, 1867, the most significant contribution of Secretary of State William H. Seward's career came
to pass as the Russian flag was lowered and the Stars and Stripes were raised over the city of Sitka, Alaska.
Few had been interested the distant territory, but Seward had been so determined to purchase Alaska from
Russia that he started negotiating for the territory in 1859 before he had been authorized to do so by President
Andrew Johnson.

The Russians had become anxious to sell their interests in Alaska following the Crimean War (1853-1856.) The
profitable fur trade of the late 1700's and early 1800's had subsided due to over-harvesting and so Russia saw
little other use for the territory at the time regardless of the fact that Russian trappers had found the first evidence of oil in 1853. The Grand Duke
Constantine had urged the sale of Alaska to the US as early as 1857, but the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861 stalled talks. At the
conclusion of the war, Seward made an unauthorized offer of $5 million at his first opportunity. While the Russian minister Edoard de Stoecki was
presenting this offer to the czar, Seward asked the United States government for permission to offer up to $7 million. Surprising even Seward, the
government agreed. They had no knowledge that a purchase agreement was in the works and with Reconstruction beginning, little attention was
given to Alaska. By March, 1867 a purchase price had been set at $7.2 million, the extra $200 thousand added at the eleventh hour to avoid further
negotiations on details of the terms of sale. The total land area purchased was 570,373.6
square miles. On March 30, 1867 Seward and Stoecki signed the Treaty of Cession. The
formal transfer of territory occurred on October 18, 1867.

Seward's efforts to acquire Alaska angered many in the US. The sale was referred to as
"Seward's Folly," considered an unnecessary purchase of worthless real estate. Alaska was
caricatured as "Walrussia," and "Seward's Icebox." Consequently, Congress did not provide
for a local government in Alaska, instead administering the territory first through the War
Department, then the Treasury Department, and then the Navy. By the 1870's, a few
American companies had become interested in Alaska's rich salmon fisheries; otherwise the
territory went unchecked and unused. In 1884 Congress passed the first Organic Act
establishing Alaska as a civil and judicial district, but the laws provided were those drafted for
the state of Oregon and were ill suited fo r Alaskan conditions. However, things would soon change for this territory that had become known as
"Seward's Folly."

In 1896 gold was discovered in the Yukon Territory just off the eastern border of Alaska and interest in the territory skyrocketed. Thousands of
people journeyed to Alaska by ship in order to make the overland passage to the Klondike and stake their claims. Two years later, in 1898 gold was
discovered on the opposite side of the territory in Nome, and suddenly the US Government was interested. The US Geological Service began to
survey Alaska to see what else could be found. In 1902 the first commercial oil production began in Katalla, and the gold production swelled, peaking
in 1906 continuing today. Additionally, 1911 copper production began at which point President Wilson saw the necessity of authorizing the
construction of the Alaska Railroad in 1914 to handle to massive production of Alaska's many lucrative natural resources. As a result of the rapid
development and growth in Alaska the first bill proposing statehood was introduced in Congress in 1916. Alaska would wait more than forty years
before becoming the 49 th state on January 3, 1959.

Location has always been an important factor when considering the pros and cons of Alaska as an economic asset, a place to live, or a state. It is so
remote, yet unlike Hawaii, it is continental and enormous. The state is a direct link to the Eastern Hemisphere with the most southern of the Aleutian
Islands actually reaching the Eastern Hemisphere. At one fifth the size of the combined lower forty-eight states, Alaska has 6,640 miles of coastline
making it readily accessible by water transport. All of these characteristics were very important during World War II, as the US was able to take
advantage of the distances that Alaska reached. Still, the most notable contribution of Alaska to the US has been the
volume of natural resources available for exportation and production. In a single year Alaska generated $27 million
from agricultural industries; $1.6 billion from fishing industries; $429 million from mining industries including gold, zinc,
silver, and coal; and $8.1 billion from petroleum industries. (Numbers based on figures from 1992-1993) These
contributions alone seem to dwarf the original purchase price.

Perhaps now Seward's legacy has changed for the majority of Americans. But his legacy also changed in the eyes of
the long overlooked native peoples of Alaska. The Inuit, Athabskan, Aleut, and Tlingit people saw the Russians come
to Alaska in the previous centuries only to watch them nearly decimate the seal and sea otter population. The native
Alaskans staged small uprisings trying to protect their lands but were unsuccessful. When word of the American
purchase of Alaska spread through the native communities it was well received. They believed that their situation could
improve under American administration. A Tlingit tribe constructed an honor [totem] pole in the image of Seward to
celebrate the changes they foresaw. But the native traditions and rights continued to be ignored after the American p
urchase of the territory. This was due to the initial lack of American interest in the area and then because the natives
stood in the way of obvious financial gain. In 1882 the US Navy destroyed the Tlingit village of Angoon while expanding commercial fishing interests.
In the late 1880's Seward's honor pole had been altered to a ridicule pole, not to be corrected until it was believed that Seward's deal to obtain
Alyeska, the Tlingit's "Great Land," would include recognizing the native peoples of that land. The pole stands today unaltered from the late 1880's.