Alaska+Purchase+-+Il-Min

IL-Min Ahn The Alaskan Purchase a). The Alaskan Purchase occurred 4:00 AM on March 30, 1867. b). Before 1867, the Alaskan land, nearly 600,000 square miles, belonged to the giant Eurasian country, Russia. However, Russia was in fear that the gigantic ice land which lay in the other side of the world might be subdued by its archenemy, Great Britain, which, at the time, held Canada just besides Alaska. Since the insanely cold state of Alaska was both inhospitable for people to reside in and devastatingly far from the motherland, Alexander II, the emperor of Russia was unable to place soldiers in Alaska to ward off the threatening British. In fearing that he may lose the land at any moment and unaware that under the continent flowed rich oil and mineral resources, wished to sell off the land to the United States, its quickly-expanding ally, as soon as possible. Also, as Russia gained more interest in fur trading and expansion in other parts of the world, it lost its will to hold on the the uselessly large and threatened colony. The United States, housing many who wished for expansion, had generally a positive attitude towards purchasing the Alaskan ice land. Also, the American civil war had just occurred, leaving the Russian Empire as a supportive and welcomed ally, and Great Britain, a threat to both the United States and the land of Alaska, creating further reasons for the purchase of the frozen state. Although it had some oppositions from both countries, the Russian minister, Louis Baydalal came into the United States and signed the Alaskan Purchase Treaty with the United State's Secretary of State, William H. Seward in general concord. The treaty sold the Alaskan state for $7,200,000 to the United States, an insanely cheap price considering the immense area of the state, because the threat Russia had from Britain and its seemingly infertile land. Only later did the two countries find out that the apparently useless ice continent was actually overflowing with valuable natural resources, causing great conflict between the appalled emperor of Russia and the delighted United States. However, the land was already sold to the United States, and the angered empire of Europe could do nothing else but regret. c). The gigantic chunk of land that the United States purchased actually had a feeble population of 30,000 people because of the freezing weather and dangerous wild animals the citizens had to face, and the change in control of the colony seemed to matter little to the busy people of the frozen state. The Russian Empire, although greatly regretting its decision later, was unanimous in the thought of selling the land, even though it only sold for a cheap price, because they felt no need for the state when they were earning new lands from different parts of the world. In the United States, however, some gave the transaction a second thought and many reluctantly agreed upon the purchase. Horace Greely, a magnate of the New York Tribune along with others grew hostile to this decision saying that the purchase of such useless land was nothing more than a waste of money. They referred to the icy colony as 'Johnson's Polar Bear Garden,' mocking the president who firmly supported the purchase of the land. Also, the money from the transaction could only be paid one year after, because the House of Representatives had disapproved of the money to be paid until then. However, most of the people in the United States, especially Seward and Johnson, who wished expansion and alliance with Russia, were in concord with the purchase of Alaska. After the discovery of the oil and mineral reservoirs, two times larger than any other in North America however, all the citizens of United States seemed satisfied.

d). When the purchase of Alaska had just occurred, there seemed to be no change in the lifestyles of the Alaskan inhabitants. Soon enough, however, a reservoir of gold and silver, twice as large as any other in North America was discovered. A short time later, a oil reservoir larger than any other in the United States was also discovered. This shocking discovery called upon the influx of 20,000 people to the once abandoned land, all in search for the right area to make them insanely rich. Since then, the Alaskan population has been growing steadily. Other factors such as the prosperous, but dangerous, fishing industry and tourism also has positive effects on the population and inhabitants of Alaska by increasing their economy. Alaska has grown much that Mr. Hopkin chose to go to the University of Alaska.

e). The iceland that Johnson purchased for a cheap price proved to be amazingly beneficial to the American economy. By the uncovering of oil, gold and silver reservoirs, the United Stated gained an immense source of income that will continue to support them for many years to come. Also, the fishing industry, research institute, and other programs in Alaska have proven to be beneficial to the economy of the United States. Compared to the price United States paid Russia for the icy colony, they have gained much prosperity from it.

http://frontiers.loc.gov/intldl/mtfhtml/mfak/mfaksale.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaskan_Purchase