Social Studies (Day 3)
 

"The Purchase of Alaska and Seward’s Folly"

        Objectives:
                1. The students will be able to understand that not all Americans agreed with
                    the purchase of Alaska.
                2. The students will be able to connect expansionism to the purchase of Alaska.
                3. The students will be able to put themselves in the shoes of famous historical
                    leaders.

            Content:
                -The tremendous landmass of Alaska—equal to one-fifth of the continental
                  U.S.—was unexplored in 1867 when Secretary of State William Seward
                  arranged for its purchase from the Russians for $7,200,000. The transfer
                  of the territory took place on Oct. 18, 1867. Despite a price of about two
                 cents an acre, the purchase was widely ridiculed as “Seward's Folly.”
                - See
                http://geography.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108178.html

        Resources:
                1. Seward’s Folly by Melissa Whitcraft
                2. Students’ journals

            Strategies/Activities:
                1. Explain to the students that over 100 years ago, many people disagreed
                   about the purchase of Alaska.  Give a brief summary of what happened
                   during that time.  (See above website.)  Peak students’ interest by presenting
                   interesting, surprising details.  (For example, compare the price of two cents
                   an acre to what an acre costs today.) 
                2. Explain to the students that expansionism was a driving force behind Alaska’s
                    purchase.   Ask the students if they can think of times in history that
              expansionism was emphasized and used.  (moving West in the 1800’s, winning
                    Texas and parts of the southwestern states during the Mexican War, etc.) 
                    Ask the students if they think expansion in all of these cases was ethical.  Point
                    out that one of the main pushes behind the Mexican War was greed.  Take time
                    to discuss students’ opinions, possible questions they may have about U.S. current
                    foreign involvement (eg. War on Terrorism), and other concerns or issues that
                    may be brought up.
                3. Remind the students that the U.S. started out as a small group of colonial states
                    and is not a dominant, successful superpower in the world today. 
                4. Read the book Seward’s Folly to the students.  This book describes Alaska’s
                    history, its path to statehood, and current issues it faces.
                5. Talk about the disagreement of the purchase again.  Tell students that people
                    called Alaska “Seward’s Icebox” and “President Andrew Johnson’s Polar Bear
                    Garden.”  Ask students why these nicknames were made.  (people thought it
                    was foolish to spend lots of money on such a remote, desolate area of land.

            Closure:
            -Ask the students to take out their journals and write a journal entry from
                   either the perspective of Seward or President Andrew Johnson. 

            Extension Activities:
                -Students may write more journal entries from different historical leaders.
                -Students may reread pages of Seward’s Folly by Melissa Whitcraft.

            Evaluation:
                -Informally assess students’ discussion and involvement by recording anecdotal
                 notes.
                -Check to see that students thoughtfully and creatively wrote realistic journal
                entries.

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