The $7.2 Million Gamble That Gave America "Alaska" скачать в хорошем качестве

The $7.2 Million Gamble That Gave America "Alaska"

In 1867, U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward orchestrated a deal that many of his contemporaries viewed as a massive waste of taxpayer money, famously mocking the $7.2 million acquisition as "Seward’s Folly" or "Seward’s Icebox." At just roughly two cents per acre, the United States purchased over 580,000 square miles of territory from a debt-ridden Russian Empire that feared losing the land to Great Britain. While the public initially scoffed at the idea of buying a frozen wasteland, the discovery of gold in the 1890s and massive oil reserves in the 20th century transformed Alaska into one of the most profitable real estate ventures in human history. Today, the purchase stands as a masterclass in geopolitical strategy, providing the U.S. with invaluable natural resources and a critical defensive position in the Arctic that shifted the balance of global power forever. #americanhistory #alaskapurchase