Seward's Folly refers to what action taken by the US government? A. The purchase of Alaska B. The annexation of Hawaii C. The Spanish-American War D. The purchase of the US Virgin Islands

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Nikolai Stephenson

History

10 July, 09:40

Seward's Folly refers to what action taken by the US government? A. The purchase of Alaska B. The annexation of Hawaii C. The Spanish-American War D. The purchase of the US Virgin Islands

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Alia Bentley · Answer 1

The correct answer is A) The purchase of Alaska.

William Seward was the Secretary of State under President Andrew Johnson. In 1867, Seward campaigned for the purchase of Alaska from Russia. After narrowly passing in Congress, many dubbed this purchase Seward's Folly. This is due to the fact that many Congressmen believed this was a bad idea to purchase Alaska, as they felt it would add no significant value to the United States. These Congressmen were proved wrong when gold was discovered in Alaska.