Seward's folly : a new look at the Alaska Purchase / Lee A. Farrow.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Farrow, Lee A., 1966- Author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Seward, William H. (William Henry), 1801-1872.

Seward, William H.

Alaska--Annexation to the United States.

Alaska.

United States--Foreign relations--Russia.

United States.

Russia--Foreign relations--United States.

Russia.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (240 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Fairbanks, Alaska : University of Alaska Press, [2016]

Summary:

The Alaska Purchase-denounced at the time as "Seward's Folly" but now seen as a masterstroke-is well known in American history. But few know the rest of the story. This book aims to correct that. Lee Farrow offers here a detailed account of just what the Alaska Purchase was, how it came about, its impact at the time, and more. Farrow shows why both America and Russia had plenty of good reasons to want the sale to occur, including Russia's desire to let go of an unprofitable, hard-to-manage colony and the belief in the United States that securing Alaska could help the nation gain control of British Columbia and generate closer trade ties with Asia. Farrow also delves into the implications of the deal for foreign policy and international diplomacy far beyond Russia and the United States at a moment when the global balance of power was in question. A thorough, readable retelling of a story we only think we know, Seward's Folly will become the standard book on the Alaska Purchase.

Contents:

Some mysterious sympathy: the foundations of friendship

Evident advantages: origins and objectives

Seward's chimerical project: public reaction and ratification

No longer Russian America: taking possession of Alaska

Paying for the "new national ice-house": approval and appropriation

Very uneasy and vexed: international reactions to the purchase

That snow-bound wilderness: from treaty to territory.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9781602233041

1602233047

OCLC:

935676811