THE VIRGINIA DYNASTY 1801 1825
THE MONROE DOCTRINE
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Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
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Americans didn’t own a territory so far north
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It was a frozen wasteland with no resources
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U.S. had already annexed Samoa, and didn’t need another territory
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Thought two-cents an acre was too expensive
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Detailed explanation-1: -William Seward’s was U.S secretary of state in 1867. He purchased Alaska from Russia and many Americans opposed the purchase. People called it Seward’s Folly because they thought it was useless and and had no point and thought his decision was foolish.
Detailed explanation-2: -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-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.
Detailed explanation-4: -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.
Detailed explanation-5: -In Alaska, the Americans foresaw a potential for gold, fur and fisheries, as well as more trade with China and Japan. The Americans worried that England might try to establish a presence in the territory, and the acquisition of Alaska – it was believed – would help the U.S. become a Pacific power.