By 1944, the bombing of German troops, towns and strategic locations had been going on for almost a year but the Allies had yet to launch a full ground invasion of Northern Europe. After much discussion and a number of different proposals, the Allied Powers decided on a coordinated attack beginning on the beaches of Normandy, France. What was to become known as the D-Day invasion was one of the most violent, dramatic and victorious moments for the soldiers and commanders of World War II. 
False information was sent to the Germans suggesting that the invasion would take place further along the coast at Calais, about 150 miles from the actual site. To increase the believability of the deception, American commanders had rubber tanks and planes manufactured and placed them on the English coast at Dover right across the channel from Calais. The dummy squadrons’ also convinced German leaders that the invasion force was much bigger and better equipped that it was. 
The Allies landed at five beaches: Omaha, Utah (American troops), Gold, Juno and Sword (British and Canadian troops). Planes dropped bombs, amphibious tanks rolled out of the water and parachuted soldiers charged the beaches. Despite the element of surprise and the coordinated attack, there were problems. The American beaches suffered the worst. Of the 10,000 plus that died that day, 6,000 were American. Bogged down by German defenses and troubled by miscommunications, many lives were quickly lost. Against all hope, the men fought forward capturing the beaches and wrestling command of France back from the Germans. 
D-Day started on June 6, but the Allies continued to land troops and supplies along the Normandy coast until June 11. By that time, over 300,000 men, 50,000 vehicles and 100,000 tons of support and supplies had landed on the beaches. During the entire invasion 425,000 men were lost on all sides, making D-Day one of the wars most bittersweet successes.
By adding the territory of Alaska to the landmass of the country, Seward increased the size of the United States by twenty percent. At the time of the purchase, the rest of the government couldn’t see the point in buying a large piece of empty land that was dark for six months out of the year, had inhospitable weather and was difficult to traverse. But within a few short years oil and gold were discovered in Alaska making the $7.2 million purchase price a bit of a bargain. Seward’s folly turned out to be Seward’s foresight.
William Henry Seward was born in Florida in 1801 and became a lawyer after college. Seward not only concerned himself with the Alaska purchase, he was also one of the biggest anti slavery advocates of his time. He became a politician at the tender age of 29 going from New York senator to New York governor and then spent twelve years as a United States senator.
During his senate time, he assisted with the statehood of California, promoted the abolitionist movement and even allowed his home to be used as a stop on the Underground Railroad. He ran for president in 1860 but his party chose Lincoln as their candidate that year. Seward gratefully accepted a nomination from Lincoln to be Secretary of State and served in that capacity for the rest of Lincoln’s term. Secretary of state under Lincoln proved a dramatic role as Seward suffered a knife attack the same evening that Lincoln was assassinated. This was just a setback for the determined Seward who finished his term and then served as Secretary of State under the next President Andrew Johnson.
Before Seward’s purchase in 1867, the Alaskan territory had been a bit of a Russian stronghold. Fur trappers had utilized the area for decades but by the 1850s, Russia was looking elsewhere to improve its economy. Purchasing land from China seemed more important to the Russian emperor Alexander II than retaining unprofitable land near North America. For the Russians, it had become a matter of sell to the Americans or sell to the British who wanted the land to increase the size of their territory of Canada.
The Russians had fought against the British in the Crimean War from 1853 to 1856 where both the Russian Empire and the Western European powers fought to obtain the lands now available from the break up of the Ottoman Empire. Russian had no desire to let the British take the land, no matter how fruitless they felt Alaska to be. The Russians offered the land to America out of a determination to upset the British and Seward jumped on the opportunity.
Despite a delay in negotiations caused by the interruption of the American Civil War (1861-1865), Seward pursued the Russian offer as soon as he was able. March 30 the handshakes took place but it would take until October of 1867 for all the red tape to go through and for Alaska to be officially declared a part of the United States. With the purchase, Seward not only gained for America a beautiful resource rich state, he ended Russian influence in the Americas and secured the northern borders of the nation.
| Alaska officially became a state in 1959 under the presidency of Dwight Eisenhower. Seward, Alaska is a thriving town to this day, named for the man who believed in the importance of the state to the country as a whole. The purchase is celebrated every last Monday in March (“Seward’s Day”) by the citizens of Alaska. The story of Seward’s folly shows that determination and an ambitious personality can get the job done and not just presidents go down in American political history. |
Tags: Alaska, Alaska history, Alaska Purchase, Alaskan Statehood, Alaskan Territory, American Civil War, American History, American Political History, Andrew Johnson, Anti-Slavery advocate, Civil War, Crimean War, discovery of Gold in Alaska, discovery of oil in Alaska, Dwight Eisenhower, Fur Trappers in Alaska, Lincoln, New York Governor Seward, Russia, Secretary of State Seward, Seward, Seward's Day, Seward's folly, statehood of California, Tsar Alexander II, U.S. History, U.S. Senator Seward, Underground Railroad, William Henry Seward
