(A) Sewards Slip Up
(B) Sewards Scallywags
(C) ** Seward’s Folly
(D) Seward’s Flop
EXPLANATIONS BELOW
Concept note-1: -The acquisition of Alaska by the United States on March 30, 1867, was dubbed “Seward’s Folly” or ridiculed as “Seward’s Icebox” by critics at the time.
Concept note-2: -In 1867, the United States purchased Alaska from Russia for a price of $7.2 million.
Concept note-3: -Skeptics had dubbed the purchase of Alaska “Seward’s Folly, ” but the former Secretary of State was vindicated when a major gold deposit was discovered in the Yukon in 1896, and Alaska became the gateway to the Klondike gold fields. The strategic importance of Alaska was finally recognized in World War II.
Concept note-4: -Seward agreed to purchase Alaska from Russia for 7.2 million dollars. Critics attacked Seward for the secrecy surrounding the deal, which came to be known as “Seward’s folly.” The press mocked his willingness to spend so much on “Seward’s icebox” and Andrew Johnson’s “polar bear garden.”
Concept note-5: -Senators called it “reckless and wasteful, ” the American people scoffed at the frozen wasteland-Secretary of State Seward’s purchase of Alaska from Russia was condemned and mocked by many Americans. However, Alaska would become a hub of natural resources and an important strategic position.