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KF5JRV > TODAY 18.10.18 13:21l 40 Lines 2167 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 23290_KF5JRV
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Subj: Today in History - Oct 18
Path: IW8PGT<IZ3LSV<IK6ZDE<VE2PKT<N9PMO<NS2B<KF5JRV
Sent: 181018/1117Z 23290@KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA BPQ6.0.16
On this day in 1867, the U.S. formally takes possession of Alaska after
purchasing the territory from Russia for $7.2 million, or less than two
cents an acre. The Alaska purchase comprised 586,412 square miles, about
twice the size of Texas, and was championed by William Henry Seward, the
enthusiasticly expansionist secretary of state under President Andrew
Johnson.
Russia wanted to sell its Alaska territory, which was remote, sparsely
populated and difficult to defend, to the U.S. rather than risk losing
it in battle with a rival such as Great Britain. Negotiations between
Seward (1801-1872) and the Russian minister to the U.S., Eduard de
Stoeckl, began in March 1867. However, the American public believed the
land to be barren and worthless and dubbed the purchase “Seward’s Follyö
and “Andrew Johnson’s Polar Bear Garden,ö among other derogatory names.
Some animosity toward the project may have been a byproduct of President
Johnson’s own unpopularity. As the 17th U.S. president, Johnson battled
with Radical Republicans in Congress over Reconstruction policies
following the Civil War. He was impeached in 1868 and later acquitted by
a single vote. Nevertheless, Congress eventually ratified the Alaska
deal. Public opinion of the purchase turned more favorable when gold was
discovered in a tributary of Alaska’s Klondike River in 1896, sparking a
gold rush. Alaska became the 49th state on January 3, 1959, and is now
recognized for its vast natural resources. Today, 25 percent of
America’s oil and over 50 percent of its seafood come from Alaska. It is
also the largest state in area, about one-fifth the size of the lower 48
states combined, though it remains sparsely populated. The name Alaska
is derived from the Aleut word alyeska, which means “great land.ö Alaska
has two official state holidays to commemorate its origins: Seward’s
Day, observed the last Monday in March, celebrates the March 30, 1867,
signing of the land treaty between the U.S. and Russia, and Alaska Day,
observed every October 18, marks the anniversary of the formal land
transfer.
73 de Scott KF5JRV
Pmail: KF5JRV@KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA
email: KF5JRV@ICLOUD.COM
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