Because most Americans considered it to have been a waste of money.
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Alaska's purchase was called "Seward's Folly" because at the time of the purchase in 1867, many Americans viewed it as a wasteland with little value. Secretary of State William Seward negotiated the purchase of Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million, which was seen as a large sum for what was perceived as a barren and remote territory. However, the discovery of gold and other valuable resources in Alaska later proved the critics wrong, leading to the eventual recognition of the purchase as a wise investment.
On March 30, 1867, Seward completed negotiations for the territory, which involved the purchase of 586,412 square miles of territory (more than twice the area of Texas) for $7,200,000, or approximately 2 cents per acre (equivalent to US$95 million in 2005). The purchase of this frontier land was variously mocked by the public as Seward's Folly, "Seward's Icebox," and Andrew Johnson's "polar bear garden" because he payed too much money for the land, and got ripped off. Alaska celebrates the purchase on Seward's Day, the last Monday of March.
Most Americans at the time thought that Alaska was just a frozen wasteland, and didn't relize all of the resources that he did. .
Some people did not believe that the Secretary of State displayed wisdom in buying it.
The capital of Seward's Folly was and is Juneau. Seward's Folly was the name for the purchase made of Alaska for $7 million.
Seward's folly dealt with the secretary of state who convinced Congress to purchase Alaska. Being an icy wasteland, Seward was ridiculed for seeming to have made a big mistake, but it turns out that Alaska was actually rich in resources that the US had needed.
Secretary of State William H. Seward signed the 1867 treaty to purchase Alaska from Russia. Opposition referred to it as Seward's Folly or Seward's Icebox, as no value was seen at the time. The Klondike gold rush occurred later, in 1896.
Andrew Johnson. A simple search of "alaska purchase" gave me the date of 1867. Another search of "1867 president" gave me Andrew Johnson. Should try to problem solve yourself, in the end it will pay off more so than depending on others. ^ Strictly speaking, it was James Seward who purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867. Johnson opposed this decision and in fact it came to be known as "Seward's folly" or "Seward's icebox". smartass.
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