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This Day in
History

Was Purchasing Alaska Worth it?
By: Brodie Silles
10/18/24

On October 18, 1867, Alaska became a part of the United States. This event marked the end of Russia's efforts to expand their trades and settlements to North America. It was an important step for the U.S. towards becoming a great power.

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For context, when the Americans began to expand throughout North America in the early 1800’s, they began to find themselves in competition with the Russians. However, the Russians did not have the financial resources to support major settlements or military power overseas. Due to that, the permanent Russian settlers in Alaska were never more than four hundred. 

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In 1859, Russia offered to sell Alaska to the U.S.A. to make sure Britain did not try to take a hold of the territory. The Civil War ended up delaying the purchase, but after the Civil War had ended, the Secretary of State at the time, William Seward, agreed to a renewed offer from the Russian Minister, Edouard de Stoeckl, to purchase Alaska for a sum of 7.2 million dollars, meaning the United States bought Alaska for two cents per acre!

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For thirty years after the United States made the Alaska Purchase, the U.S. paid little to no attention to Alaska, which was governed under the rule of the military, navy, or Treasury, though sometimes it had no rule at all. To put U.S. mining laws in place, the U.S. finally constituted a civil government in 1884. Meanwhile, the purchase was being criticized, and some even  called it Seward’s Folly. The New York Times even proclaimed that, “Russia has sold us a sucked orange!” Alaska was even mocked as Seward’s Icebox and Seward’s Polar Bear Garden! However, much of the criticism ended when a large sum of gold was found in Alaska, leading to the Alaska Gold Rush and the Klondike gold field’s establishment.

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Fun fact: October 18th is National Chocolate Cupcake Day and National Mashed Potatoes Day!

 

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October 4th Through the Years
By: Brodie Silles
10/04/24

23 A.D.

Chang’an, also known as the departure point of the Silk Road and the gateway from Asia to Europe, was a city in Neolithic Age China that was the capital of ten dynasties. On this date in 23 CE, it was captured and sacked in a rebellion of the peasants. The emperor of Chang’an, Wang Mang, was killed and decapitated by the rebels two days after the rebellion.

 

1302

The Byzantine-Venetian War, an offshoot of the second Venetian-Genose War, was between the Byzantines and Venetians, and took place in Europe from 1296 to 1302. On this date in 1302, the Byzantines signed a peace treaty with the Venetians that forced the Venetians to return most of the land they had claimed during their conquests, except for four locations: the islands of Kea, Santorini, Serifos, and Amorgos. The four islands were kept by the privateers that had captured them. The Byzantines also repaid the Venetians for the losses the Venetians had sustained during the massacre of Venetian residents by the Byzantines in 1296.

 

1957

Sputnik 1 was the first artificial satellite, and it was launched by the Russians on this date in 1957. Very few people in the U.S. anticipated it, and it came as a shock to many American citizens and experts alike. This event also started the Space Race, marked the beginning of the Space Age, and prompted the U.S. to found NASA, launch its own satellites, and eventually launch spaceships with humans on them.

 

2022

On this date in 2022, Hurricane Orlene made landfall in Southwestern Mexico’s Pacific Coast as a category 1 storm. Orlene had formed over the far eastern Pacific as a tropical storm on September 29, 2022, and moved south over the next few days. When it made landfall in Mexico, it was a relatively small storm, but it forecasted 6 to 14 inches of rainfall.

 

Fun Fact: 

National Golf Lover’s Day, which was established in 1957, is celebrated on this date!

 

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