Reading in a single sitting 一口气读完这段历史

The Alaska Purchase refers to the American acquisition of Alaska from Russia in 1867. For Russia, this sale was largely a tactical move which prevented a potential seizure of the territory by the British. The purchase was negotiated by US Secretary of State William Seward（威廉·西沃德）, who obtained the vast stretch of land for $7.2 million US Dollars (USD). Despite this seeming bargain , the Alaska Purchase was initially unpopular among much of the US public as well as many of the nation' s congressmen, who dubbed the transaction "Seward' s folly." As the bounty of Alaska' s natural resources became increasingly apparent , however, public opinion of the purchase shifted from dissatisfaction to approval.

Negotiation of the Alaska Purchase began in 1859, when Russia initially offered the territory to the US.Russia' s motivation for selling the territory was largely tactical. Alaska had long proven difficult and expensive to defend. Furthermore, the land directly to the southeast of the territory was maintained by Great Britain, whose relationship with Russia had become strained in the recent Crimean War（克里米亚战争）. By selling Alaska to the US, Russia would prevent a potential seizure of the territory by the British.

On the US side, the Alaska Purchase was handled by Secretary of State William Seward, who saw the transaction as an opportunity for America to establish a presence in the North Pacific. Despite Seward' s immediate interest in the territory, however, negotiations were quickly suspended due to the outbreak of the US Civil War in 1861. Talks between Seward and Russian minister Eduard de Stoeckl resumed in 1867, and a sale was finally agreed upon by the two men on 30 March 1867.

While the purchase price negotiated by Seward -$7.2 million USD, or $0.023 per acre -may have been a bargain, many in Congress were resistant to the deal, arguing that Alaska was difficult to access and bereft of any concrete value. As a result, congressional approval of the Alaska Purchase was delayed for several months as congressmen argued over the plan' s merits . Eventually, however, the sale was approved, and the territory was officially transferred from Russia to the US on 18 October 1867.

Even after it had come to pass, the Alaska Purchase remained unpopular among many politicians, journalists, and members of the public. The transaction even gained the nickname "Seward' s folly." When gold was discovered in the territory at the end of the 19th century, however, the nation began to comprehend the extent of the natural bounty it had gained. Alaska remained an American territory until 1959, when it was named a US state.

With the purchase of Alaska, the United States acquired an area twice as large as Texas, but it was not until the great Klondike gold strike（克朗代克黄金热）in 1896 that Alaska came to be seen generally as a valuable addition to American territory.

Senator Sumner had told the nation that the Russians estimated that Alaska contained about 2, 500 Russians and those of mixed race, and 8, 000 Indigenous people, in all about 10, 000 people under the direct government of the Russian fur company, and possibly 50, 000 Inuits and Alaska Natives living outside its jurisdiction. The Russians were settled at 23 trading posts, placed at accessible islands and coastal points. At smaller stations only four or five Russians were stationed to collect furs from the natives for storage and shipment when the company' s boats arrived to take it away. There were two larger towns. New Archangel, now named Sitka（锡特卡）, had been established in 1804 to handle the valuable trade in the skins of the sea otter and in 1867 contained 116 small log cabins with 968 residents. St. Paul in the Pribilof Islands had 100 homes and 283 people and was the center of the fur seal industry.

阿拉斯加自19世纪初开始成为俄国的属地。1867年，该地区同阿留申群岛一起，由美国以720万美元从俄国人手中购得。1959年建为美国第49州，也是美国面积最大的一个州。“阿拉斯加”一词最可能源于阿留申语的“Alyeska”，意思是“很大的陆地”。

1854年爆发了克里米亚战争，俄国害怕阿拉斯加殖民地被英国夺走，提议将阿拉斯加卖给美国。1867年3月29日，美俄双方同意最终以7, 200, 000美元（含手续费200, 000）成交。而土地合约的生效日期就在1867年10月18日，故一直到今日，阿拉斯加为了庆祝这天，特定为阿拉斯加纪念日（Alaska Day）。这笔土地交易成为世界土地交易史上面积最大的一笔交易，平均单价每英亩才二美分。

负责此购地案的美国国务卿威廉·西沃德因为以大量金钱买下冰天雪地的阿拉斯加，使得当时很多美国人揶揄这是“西华德的蠢事”。可是西沃德讲了一句话：“现在我把它买下来，也许多少年以后，我们的子孙会因为买到这块地而得到好处。”

Key Words in History 历史关键词

1. William Seward 威廉·西沃德

William Henry Seward, Sr. (May 16, 1801-October 10, 1872) was the 12th Governor of New York, United States Senator and the United States Secretary of State under Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson. An outspoken opponent of the spread of slavery in the years leading up to the American Civil War, he was a dominant figure in the Republican Party in its formative years, and was widely regarded as the leading contender for the party' s presidential nomination in 1860-yet his very outspokenness may have cost him the nomination. Despite his loss, he became a loyal member of Lincoln' s wartime cabinet, and played a role in preventing foreign intervention early in the war. On the night of Lincoln' s assassination, he survived an attempt on his life in the conspirators' effort to decapitate the Union government. As Johnson' s Secretary of State, he engineered the purchase of Alaska from Russia in an act that was ridiculed at the time as "Seward' s Folly", but which somehow exemplified his character. His contemporary Carl Schurz described Seward as "one of those spirits who sometimes will go ahead of public opinion instead of tamely following its footprints."

2. Alaska Day 阿拉斯加纪念日

Alaska Day celebrates the formal transfer of Alaska from Russia to the United States, which took place on October 18, 1867, by the Gregorian calendar and a clock time 9:01:20 behind Greenwich, which came into effect the following day in Alaska to replace the Julian calendar and a clock time 14:58:40 ahead of Greenwich. For the Russians, the handover was on October 17, 1867.

The official celebration of Alaska Day is held in Sitka, where schools release students early, many businesses close for the day, and events such as a parade and reenactment of the flag raising are held.

3. Klondike Gold Rush 克朗代克淘金热

The Klondike Gold Rush, sometimes referred to as the Yukon gold rush, was a frenzy of gold rush immigration to and for gold prospecting, along the Klondike River near Dawson City, Yukon, Canada after gold was discovered there in the late 19th century. In total, about 12, 500, 000 troy ounces (390, 000 kg or 860, 000 lb) have been taken from the Klondike area in the century since its discovery.

In August 1896, a party led by Keish (Skookum Jim Mason), a member of the Tagish First Nations, headed north, down the Yukon River from the Carcross area, looking for his sister Kate and her husband George Carmack. The party consisted of Skookum Jim, his cousin, known as Dawson Charlie (or sometimes Tagish Charlie), and his nephew Patsy Henderson. After meeting up with George and Kate, who were fishing for salmon at the mouth of the Klondike River, they ran into Nova Scotian Robert Henderson who had been mining gold on the Indian River, just south of the big dike.

Background Knowledge 背景知识补充

阿拉斯加成为美国领土的过程非常滑稽。19世纪初，世世代代居住在阿拉斯加南部的特林基特印第安人部落同入侵的俄国人接连进行了两次战争，最终被火力强大的俄国人征服。但是，1856年克里米亚战争后，俄国元气大伤，沙皇亚历山大二世决心卖掉这块不挣钱的土地。他锁定美国人为买主。

由于担心美国对购买阿拉斯加不感兴趣，俄国花了10万美元收买美国一些新闻记者和政客，试图通过他们来游说美国政府。1867年3月，俄国派官员到美国洽谈出售阿拉斯加问题。当时，美国国务卿威廉·西沃德是个狂热的扩张主义者。他在同俄国谈判时，开始出价500万美元，后以720万美元的价格同俄国在一夜之间达成了购买协议，并且急不可待地于第二天凌晨在协议书上正式签字。终于，美国以绝对低廉的价格买到了面积达150多万平方公里的巨大半岛及其周边的阿留申群岛。

当时在美国，只有少数渔民希望得到出入阿拉斯加海港的权利，一部分加利福尼亚商人谋求在那里从事毛皮贸易的特权，而多数人对阿拉斯加一无所知。西沃德签订购买阿拉斯加协议后，立即在国内引起一阵反对声，说阿拉斯加是“西沃德的冰箱”，批评这是“一笔糟糕的交易”，“一个异乎寻常的错误。”西沃德被国内舆论骂得躲在家里许多天。

然而，精明的西沃德还是坚持不懈地争取到了国会的支持。1867年4月和7月，参众两院分别以多数票通过了这项协议。现在看来，美国人的确应该感谢西沃德这位政治家的远见。据估计，阿拉斯加地下埋藏着5.7万亿立方米的天然气和300亿桶原油，现在价值超过2万亿美元！随着国际油价不断升高，它的身价肯定不止这个数字。俄国人一定为当初这个鲁莽的决定悔断了肠子。 Fh0ZShJVRKRtVgdDN2UPjxoVe8bezrzXIwIBCPRaYiO5SK3PAkaKNvtlWmsTKRt+