The United States Purchase of Alaska

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Russia Gained hold of Alaska when the explorer Vitus Bering landed there in the 1740’s.
The United States began expanding westward in the mid 1800’s. Along with the colonization of the west, some American politicians began to show interest in the Russian-owned territory of Alaska and all of its geological and political resources. Several political meetings throughout the world ensued, Along with a surge in Russian-American communication. In 1867, the territory of Alaska was purchased from Russia by the United States. (The Alaska Purchase and Russian-American Relations 12)
The location of Alaska (lying between the United States and Soviet Russia) made it a valuable bridge between North America and Asia. Rivalry between the two countries over the territory began when American whalers and fur traders began to travel westward and came in contact with Russian whalers and fur traders in the same area. The two countries ignored the squabbles for a few years, but eventually the complaints reached the ears of the officials and a treaty was made, followed by the instillation of several military outposts. (The Alaska Purchase and Russian-American Relations 23-25)
Along with its geographical value, Alaska was overflowing with natural resources and was mostly unexplored. Following the gold rush in California and Arizona, gold diggers began to reach westward, and soon discovered that the territory of Alaska held a massive quantity of gold. Native Alaskans Also maintained a large market in the fish, crustacean, and mollusk industry, drawing in a large profit for the country. It maintained its hold as the crab capital of the world, capturing and selling more crustaceans than any other place on earth. To put a header on the overflow of food and ...

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...st broke out into war on one occasion as the final price was being determined. At the end of the discussions, the 586,000 square miles of territory was finally sold for 7,200,000 U.S. dollars. (The Alaska Purchase and Russian-American Relations 3)
The complaints of the purchase of Alaska started to die down after lots of gold and oil was discovered there in 1860 and many immigrants began to travel to Alaska. The population of Alaska increased by 300% after those discoveries, and William Howard Seward made back his loss from the purchase of the territory in the next two years. Now Alaska has a thriving population, and it generates a large amount of income each year. It was a great financial investment for America, and has proven to be a great state. The territory of Alaska was turned into an official state of the United States of America in 1867. (The Alaskans 16)

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