Senate Resolution No. 1664

BY: Senator DEFRANCISCO

COMMEMORATING the 150th Anniversary of the
Purchase of the State of Alaska

WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to remember those
historic events which changed the course of this Nation, and to honor
those leaders who demonstrate nationalism, and who stand strong in their
convictions for the betterment of this country; and

WHEREAS, In the 19th Century, it was the belief of the American
people, that it was their divine obligation to stretch the boundaries of
this Great Nation westward to the Pacific coast; and

WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its
long-standing traditions, this Legislative Body is hereby proud to
commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the Purchase of Alaska; and

WHEREAS, Beginning in 1725, Russian Czar Peter the Great dispatched
Vitus Bering, along with other traders to explore the Alaskan coast for
its richness in natural resources and vast uninhabited land; and

WHEREAS, With its defeat in the Crimean War to Great Britain, Russia
lacked the financial resources and military presence to support a major
settlement along the Pacific coast of North America, having no more than
400 Russian settlers in the region; and

WHEREAS, In 1859, Russia offered to sell Alaska to the United States
believing that the territory would be seized by Russia's greatest rival,
Great Britain, by force if war broke out; and

WHEREAS, With the looming Civil War, the purchase of Alaska was
delayed, but United States Secretary of State William H. Seward,
originally from Auburn, New York, saw great potential in the purchase
and quickly renewed the offer with Russia as soon as the war ended; and

WHEREAS, United States Secretary of State William Seward believed
that Asia would become an important market for the country's export
products, and expected that Alaska would serve as a base for American
merchant ships; and

WHEREAS, On March 30, 1867, United States Secretary of State William
H. Seward agreed to a proposal from Russian Minister Edouard de
Stoeckle, on behalf of Russian Emperor Tsar Alexander II, to purchase
Alaska for $7.2 million, which is equivalent to approximately two cents
per acre; and

WHEREAS, The United States Senate approved the treaty of purchase on
April 9, 1867, by a vote of 37-2, and President Andrew Johnson signed
the treaty on May 28th; the United States House of Representatives
approved funding for the purchase of the Russian territory by a vote of
113-48 on July 14, 1868; and

WHEREAS, Alaska was officially transferred to the United States on
October 18,1967, at Sitka, on the Alaskan panhandle; residents in Alaska
currently recognize and celebrate October 18th as Alaska Day; and

WHEREAS, Although the American public opinion of the purchase was
mostly positive, there were a few critics who referred to Secretary of
State William Seward's decision as "Seward's Folly" or "Seward's
Icebox," and newspaper editorials contended that taxpayer dollars were
wasted on a "polar bear garden"; and

WHEREAS, For three decades the United States paid little attention
to Alaska, which was governed by military rule until in 1896, when a
major gold deposit was found in the Yukon; after this discovery, Alaska
became the gateway to the Klondike gold area, and vindicated United
States Secretary of State William H. Seward; and

WHEREAS, On January 3, 1959, President Eisenhower officially
announced Alaska as the 49th state in the United States of America; and

WHEREAS, Alaska has proved itself anything but a folly-the state
played a major strategic importance in World War II and during the Cold
War; it also provides numerous natural resources such as gold and oil,
in addition to its economic and tourism benefits; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
hereby commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the purchase of Alaska, and
to recognize Secretary of State William H. Seward for his wholehearted
devotion to this state and nation and leadership in the face of
opposition; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitable engrossed, be
presented to Seward House Museum and current Executive Director, Billye
Chabot.