|
The
Seward's Folly Cartoon: Thomas Nast
The Seward's Folly
Cartoon illustrates a satirical view of the purchase of
Alaska. The Seward's Folly cartoon is by the famous
cartoonist Thomas Nast who worked for Harpers Weekly,
which was the most popular illustrated newspaper of the
1800's. (Thomas Nast is best remembered for his
imaginative illustrations of Santa Claus). The Seward's Folly
Cartoon provides an insight of the public opinion of the
purchase of Alaska and why it was referred to as
Seward's Folly.
Description of the Seward's Folly Cartoon
In the Seward's Folly Cartoon the dominant cartoon
figure is a depiction of William Seward (cabinet member
and Secretary of State) as a mother patting the head of
her child. The 'child' is a cartoon representation of a
small President Andrew Johnson ("Andy"), dressed as
Uncle Sam. William Seward is depicted soothing President
Andrew Jackson with "Russian Salve" to calm him from all
the problems he was experiencing with Congress. The map
is entitled "Map of the Russian Fairyland - Only
$7,000,000 in Gold". Images on the Map of Alaska
represent the hostile, snow covered landscape with seals
and polar bears looking on. The picture on the wall
depicts an Aleut family with the sub-heading "One of the
Advantage" a sarcastic reference to the hostile
reception the natives of Alaska had given to the
Russians.
Seward's Folly: Seward's Icebox Cartoon
Seward's Folly
was also referred to as 'Seward's Icebox and the cartoon
on your left depicts a 'different take' on Seward's
Folly featuring a giant iceberg (called Russian
American) being pushed and pulled along by William
Seward and President Johnson being supported and moved
by the wheelbarrow entitled 'Treaty' which refers to the
Treaty of Russia and the booty of 7,000,000 fading away
with the Russian Tsar.
Why was the Seward's Folly known as Seward's Folly?
Why was the Seward's Folly known as Seward's Folly?
Seward's Folly is named for William H. Seward who was
the Secretary of State under Abraham Lincoln and Andrew
Johnson. William Seward was a fervent believed in
territorial expansion and the
Manifest Destiny of
the United States. The word folly means
the result of a senseless action or
enterprise.
The
purchase of Alaska, negotiated by William Seward, on
behalf of the United States with the Russian minister on
behalf of Russia, was sarcastically and derisively known as Seward's
Folly because so many Americans of the time thought the price of the
territory was
far too high - and there was nothing to gain except a
hostile environment, hostile natives and limited
resources.
Seward's Folly History for kids
The famous
transaction called "Seward's Folly was initiated by William H. Seward,
with the approval of President Johnson and agreed by the Treaty with Russia
negotiated with the Russian Minister to the United States, Edouard de Stoeckl.
The Treaty of Russia, signed on March 30, 1867, agreed the purchase of Russia's American territories
for $7,200,000. The territories were called
Alaska, and consisted of the enormous tract of land in the extreme
Northwest of the continent of North America. The Treaty of Russia
took the Senate by surprise as the negotiations were conducted in
secret. The territory was named 'Alaska' as a derivation of an Aleut
name which the Russians had called Alyaska. For detailed facts and
information about the Purchase of
Alaska
Facts about the
Seward's Folly for kids
Interesting facts about the Seward's Folly are
detailed below. The history of the Seward's Folly is told in a
factual timeline sequence consisting of a series of interesting, short facts
providing a simple method of relating the
history of the Seward's Folly for kids, schools and homework projects.
Seward's
Folly Fact Sheet for kids
Seward's Folly
Fact 1: William Seward firmly
believed in the expansion of US territories and the
purchase of Alaska increased the size of the United
States by 20%
Seward's Folly
Fact 2: He also believed in
the Manifest Destiny of the United States which was
based on the conviction that the occupation the
North American continent, was a divine right of the
American people.
Seward's Folly
Fact 3: He was regarded as a
firm supporter of President Andrew Johnson and as such
enrage the radical Republicans in Congress
Seward's Folly
Fact 4: The Alaskan territory
covered 586,412 square miles and at the purchase price
of £7,200,000 worked out at about two cents per acre
Seward's Folly
Fact 5: So many Americans
opposed the purchase of Alaska because although only a
few people were likely to move to the inhospitable
territory, all citizens were taxed to obtain the
purchase price
Seward's Folly
Fact 6: Other criticism for
the purchase of Alaska was because the government had to
borrow the money to finance the transaction despite the
fact that the nation was heavily in debt due to the
expenses incurred during the Civil War
Seward's Folly
Fact 7: Many were surprised
that the Secretary of State obtained approval from
Congress for the Treaty of Russia and the purchase of
Alaska which led to speculation that bribery was
involved to gain agreement
Seward's Folly
Fact 8: Seward and Johnson
believed that if the United States had not purchased
Alaska, it would probably have been taken by Great
Britain and made a part of Canada.
Seward's Folly
Fact 9: William Seward was
finally vindicated for his decision to purchase Alaska when a Important gold
deposit was discovered in the Yukon which led to
the 1896 Klondike gold rush
Seward's Folly
Fact 10: In addition to gold
Alaska was also rich in oil, fish, timber and many other
goods which far exceeded the purchase price of Alaska.
In hindsight Seward's Folly should have been called
Seward's Fortune!
Seward's
Folly Fact Sheet for kids
Seward's Folly - President Andrew Johnson Video
The article on the Seward's Folly provides an overview of one of the Important
events during his presidential term in office. The following
Andrew Johnson video will
give you additional important facts and dates about the political events experienced by the 17th American President whose presidency spanned from April 15, 1865 to March 4, 1869.
Seward's Folly
●
Interesting Facts about the Alaska Purchase for kids and schools
●
Key events
and history of the William H. Seward for kids
●
Seward's Folly, a Important
event in US history
●
Andrew Johnson Presidency from April 15, 1865 to March 4, 1869
●
Fast, fun facts about Seward's Folly
●
Foreign & Domestic
policies of President Andrew Johnson
● Andrew Johnson Presidency and
Seward's Folly for schools,
homework, kids and children
|
