What Was Sewards Folly?
The first answer is correct, but it was considered folly because of its cost and the perception that Alaska was barely inhabitable, nothing could be grown there, and it had few resources which could be developed. Go figure. Today, if Congress allows, development could take place, the soil is fairly fertile and may be able to be put into crop production if there really is global warming, and Alaskans seem to have retained most of that “rugged individualism” attitude which made this country great. If you’re wondering about the Congress remark, remember that oil and gas drilling aren’t permitted on federal lands, but neither is mining, farming nor many other industries other than gambling.
The first European to visit Alaska was Danish sailor Vitus Bering, who worked for Russia in 1741. But it wasn’t until about 40 years later that the Russians set up their first settlement there. But by the 1850s, many Americans and Canadians had settled in Alaska, and Russia wanted to sell the land. The American Secretary of Stat
