Seward’s Day 2023: Date, History, Facts about John Seward

Seward’s Day, which falls on the last Monday of March and occurs on March 27 this year, is named after William H. Seward, who was responsible for the initial purchase. This Alaskan legal holiday commemorates the signing of the Alaska Purchase Treaty. This day should not be confounded with National Alaska Day, which commemorates the formal transfer of Alaska from Russia to the United States. Here (https://nationaltoday.com/national-alaska-day/) you can learn everything there is to know about this day.

The background of Seward’s Day

Long, long ago, around the 18th century, the Russians possessed Alaska. Then the Crimean War occurred. Russia fought against the alliance of France, the Ottoman Empire, the United Kingdom, and Sardinia and lost while defending the rights of Christian minorities in the Holy Land (part of the Ottoman Empire). As a result, the Russian Tsar Alexander II began investigating ways to raise funds for the country. He shifted his focus to Alaska. Not only had the sea otter population declined drastically, but Alaska would also be difficult to defend in a future conflict. Especially considering that the British forces were headquartered in neighbouring Canada.

The Russians discussed this plan and were enthusiastic about selling to the United States by 1857 in the hopes that their presence would deter British attacks. However, the American Civil War gained precedence and any plans to purchase Alaska were shelved. Following the victory of the Union, Tsar Alexander requested a new round of negotiations. William Seward, secretary of state of the United States, negotiated with Eduard de Stoeckl, minister of Russia. On March 30, 1867, they consented to a treaty, which was ratified by the U.S. Senate. They paid $7.2 million, or approximately two cents per acre, at the time.

They renamed this location from its Russian moniker, “Alaska” (or “Alyaska”), to “Alaska.” A small number of Russian citizens, primarily merchants and clergymen, elected to remain. They too would eventually abandon Alaska, as evidenced by historical records.

People generally viewed this acquisition favorably, believing that it would serve as a platform for expanding commerce in Asia. Seward’s political opponents referred to Alaska as ‘useless land’ by coining the phrases ‘Seward’s Folly’ and ‘Seward’s Icebox’ Alaska remained sparsely populated until the Klondike Gold Rush of 1896, when the region was recognised as a genuinely valuable addition to United States territory. Alaska is the United States’s 49th largest territory and a thriving visitor destination.

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5 FACTS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT JOHN SEWARD

In the early years of the Republican Party, Seward was a prominent opponent of slavery and a prominent member of the Republican Party.

According to an 1891 article in the “Auburn Herald,” the kitchen of Seward’s residence in Auburn, New York, was one of the most frequented stops along the Underground Railroad.

Seward did not live to see the success of his efforts to acquire Alaska; he passed away in 1872 before his foresight was recognised as a legal holiday.

Seward Park in Seattle, Washington, the City of Seward in Alaska, and a statue of Seward in Ketchikan, Alaska can all be located in Alaska.

He was one of the targets of the 1965 assassination that resulted in the death of Abraham Lincoln; he suffered grave wounds that required a long time to heal.

SEWARD’S DAY DATES