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On October 18th, 1867, the United States formally took possession of Alaska, after purchasing the territory from Russia for $7.2 million, or less than two cents an acre.\nThis certainly looks like an incredibly good deal today but at the time the American public believed the land to be barren and worthless and dubbed the purchase \u201cSeward\u2019s Folly\u201d and \u201cAndrew Johnson\u2019s Polar Bear Garden\u201d, among other derogatory names.\nIn this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discuss how the the discovery of gold served to change Americans' attitude to their purchase; explain why Alaska natives maintain that their land was never Russia's to sell; and reveal why the handover ceremony was a thoroughly unedifying spectacle\u2026\xa0\nFurther Reading:\n\u2022\xa0\u2018U.S. takes possession of Alaska\u2019 (History.com, 2009): https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/u-s-takes-possession-of-alaska\xa0\n\u2022 \u2018There Are Two Versions of the Story of How the U.S. Purchased Alaska From Russia\u2019 (Smithsonian, 2017): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/why-russia-gave-alaska-americas-gateway-arctic-180962714/\xa0\n\u2022 \u2018Why did Russia sell Alaska to America?\u2019 (History Matters, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoR_k4Go9W8\xa0\n\nLove the show? Join \U0001f334CLUB RETROSPECTORS \U0001f334 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!\nPlus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.\nJoin now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!\nWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors\nThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.\nTheme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.\nCopyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023.\n\n Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices