USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -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.”

Detailed explanation-2: -In 1867, the United States purchased Alaska from Russia for a price of $7.2 million.

Detailed explanation-3: -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.

Detailed explanation-4: -On March 30, 1867, the two parties agreed that the United States would pay Russia $7.2 million for the territory of Alaska. For less that 2 cents an acre, the United States acquired nearly 600, 000 square miles.

Detailed explanation-5: -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.