Seward’s Folly 2.0?
In 1859, Russia proposed selling Alaska to the United States, believing that this move would counteract the ambitions of its primary rival in the Pacific at the time, Great Britain. The impending U.S. Civil War delayed the sale, but after the war concluded, Secretary of State William Seward quickly revisited the issue. On March 30, 1867, he accepted a renewed offer from the Russian Minister in Washington, Edouard de Stoeckl, to purchase Alaska for $7.2 million. The Senate approved the treaty of purchase on April 9, and President Andrew Johnson signed it on May 28. Alaska was officially transferred to the United States on October 18, 1867. This purchase marked the end of Russia’s presence in North America and secured U.S. access to the northern Pacific Rim.
For three decades after it was purchased, the United States paid little attention to Alaska, which was governed alternately by military, naval, or Treasury authorities—and at times, had no visible rule at all. In an effort to enforce U.S. mining laws, the United States established a civil government in 1884. Critics had referred to the acquisition of Alaska as “Seward’s Folly,” but former Secretary of State William H. Seward was vindicated when a significant gold deposit was discovered in the Yukon in 1896. This discovery made Alaska the gateway to the Klondike gold fields. The strategic importance of Alaska was finally recognized during World War II. Alaska became a state on January 3, 1959.
Alaska was called “Seward’s Folly” because many Americans thought the purchase was a waste of money. The press also mocked the purchase, calling it “Seward’s icebox” and “Andrew Johnson’s polar bear garden.”
This story may be repeating itself with Trump’s discussions concerning Greenland. Megyn Kelly interviewed recently confirmed Secretary of State Marco Rubio this week. He affirmed that Trump’s intentions regarding Greenland are serious and clarified that the acquisition is not about expanding territory but rather about national security.
Rubio explained Trump’s approach to Megyn Kelly yesterday on her Sirius XM show.
“Well, I think President Trump, what he has said publicly is he wants to buy it. He wants to pay for it. How we worked on something like that, how something like that is approached, obviously is probably done better in the appropriate forms. A lot of this stuff is done publicly, and it’s not helpful because it puts the other side in a tough spot domestically. So those conversations are going to happen. But this is not a joke. What he is saying is pretty accurate.”
“This is not about acquiring land for the purpose of acquiring land. This is in our national interest, and it needs to be solved. President Trump has put out there what he intends to do, which is to purchase it. I wasn’t privy to that phone call, but I imagine the phone call went the way a lot of these phone calls go, and that is, he just speaks bluntly and frankly with people. Ultimately, I think diplomacy in many cases works better when you’re straightforward as opposed to using platitudes and language that translates to nothing.”
Democrats got used to Biden doing nothing and never thinking out of the box. Hell let’s be honest; all they care about is their own personal wealth and their agenda to destroy everything about Western civilization. Trump is laser-focused on preserving America’s values as well as its future.
Greenland is known as the “land of the midnight sun” because the sun doesn’t set in central Greenland from the end of May to the end of July. This sounds perfect for a man like Trump, who will never sleep until he’s done everything he can for our nation.
