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Because most Americans considered it to have been a waste of money.

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Thomas Lynch

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1y ago
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12y ago

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.

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14y ago

Because most Americans considered it to have been a waste of money.

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14y ago

Most Americans believed that it was a frozen wasteland with no value.

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8y ago

Most Americans at the time thought that Alaska was just a frozen wasteland, and didn't relize all of the resources that he did. .

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14y ago

becauseSeward was the one who did it and everyone told him it was souped

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14y ago

Some people did not believe that the Secretary of State displayed wisdom in buying it.

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Q: Why was Alaska's purchase called ''Seward's Folly''?
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Related questions

What did journalist call the Alaskan purchase?

Sewards Folly


What was the purchase of Alaska for 7200000 dollars called by Americans?

Alaska Purchase is the correct name, but to Seward's opponents in was called Seward's Folly.


Sewards folly is the name given to the?

Seward's enemies referred to his purchase of the Alaska from the Russian empire as "Seward's Folly."


According to scholars todaywilliam seward's purchase of which territory is a key milestone on America's road to power?

Alaska. Called Sewards Folly


What was referred to as Sewards Folly?

Sewards Folly was bought from Russia in the 1940s and is now the great big state of Alaska.


How did Americans respond after US bought Alaska?

There were a very large group of sceptics that believed that the purchase of Alaska was a blunder. They called it Sewards Folly and Johnson's Icebox.


How and when did the U.S. acquire Alaska and what is its nickname today?

In 1867 Secratory of state, William, H Seward agreed to purchase Alaska from Russia for 7.2 million. People thought he was crazy and called the land Sewards folly or sewards ice box, until gold was discovered..


One reason Congress did not want to purchase Alaska was .?

It was called Sewards Folly because it was thought there were very few resources there.


This is what the people of the US called Sewrd's purchase of Alaska because they thought it was a mistake?

The purchase of Alaska was called "Seward's Folly," or Seward's Icebox." The purchase of Alaska was called "Seward's Folly," or Seward's Icebox."


What was Sewards folley?

Seward's Folly refers to the purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867 by Secretary of State William H. Seward. The purchase was criticized because it was thougth foolish to spend so much money (about 7.2 million dollars) on such a remote region.


What discovery changed American minds about sewards folly?

Secretary of State, Seward, bought Alaska from the Russians in the 1900's, and most of the American population was outraged that he bought a desolate wasteland for the high price that he paid. The Americans called if "Seward's Folly" because it seemed like a ridiculous deal. But gold was soon discovered in Alaska, and Sweard's purchase was soon respected.


What was the Sewards Icebox?

Seward's Icebox was a nickname given to Alaska after Secretary of State William Henry Seward bought it from Russia. The purchase was also nicknamed "Seward's Folly".