In 1867, the United States purchased Alaska from the Russian Empire for $7.2 million. The deal was widely ridiculed. Critics called it “Seward’s Folly,” after the secretary of state and lead negotiator, William Seward.
In hindsight, given the state’s immense natural resources and strategic location, it’s tough to think of Alaska as anything other than one of America’s most important territorial expansions since Thomas Jefferson’s Louisiana Purchase.
Yet many have still not learned their lesson about the Monroe Doctrine, which warned foreign powers not to meddle with the U.S. in our… Read More in Real Clear Politics