ePub Following the Drum: Women at the Valley Forge Encampment by Nancy K. Loane in History

Description

The Alaska Purchase—denounced at the time as “Seward’s Folly” but now seen as a masterstroke—is well known in American history. But few know the rest of the story. This book aims to correct that. Lee Farrow offers here a detailed account of just what the Alaska Purchase was; how it came about; its impact at the time; and more. Farrow shows why both America and Russia had plenty of good reasons to want the sale to occur; including Russia’s desire to let go of an unprofitable; hard-to-manage colony and the belief in the United States that securing Alaska could help the nation gain control of British Columbia and generate closer trade ties with Asia . Farrow also delves into the implications of the deal for foreign policy and international diplomacy far beyond Russia and the United States at a moment when the global balance of power was in question. A thorough; readable retelling of a story we only think we know; Seward’s Folly will become the standard book on the Alaska Purchase.