Was the Alaska Purchase a Good Deal?

Last updated on: January 2, 2013 at 9:00 am by Joe Carter

Was the Alaska Purchase a Good Deal? 2012-12-31T05:19:37+00:00 Joe Carter

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

When Secretary of State William H. Seward purchased Alaska from the Russian Empire in 1867, the press dubbed the expansionist effort “Seward’s Folly.” Since then the conventional wisdom has been that history vindicated Seward and his $7.2 million investment. But a paper by economist David Barker argues that the acquisition wasn’t necessarily beneficial for the lower forty-eight:

Is it possible that the purchase of Alaska, with all of its oil, timber, and other natural resources, for 1.7 cents per acre was not a good deal financially? Several factors indicate that it was not. First, the fact that income from Alaska has exceeded the initial purchase price is not sufficient to demonstrate that the purchase was a sound investment. The net present value of income to be received in the distant future is small. Oil revenues to be received in the twenty-first century should have been heavily discounted by anyone considering them in 1867. Second, the purchase was a risky investment. The prospects for the Alaskan economy were uncertain at the time of the purchase. Investment of the purchase price in other projects with similar or less risk might have yielded greater returns over the years. Finally, the return to citizens of the United States from the purchase of Alaska has been much less than the gross product of the Alaskan economy.

History

Misc.

Previous Post

January 1, 2013

The Greatest Force is Love

Next Post

January 2, 2013 Autoantonymy

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Anecdotes Art Biblical Studies Bioethics Books Christianity Conservatism Economics Education Evangelicalism Family History Language Arts Military Misc. Moral Philosophy Movies Music Oddities Philosophy Poetry Politics Pop Culture Quotes Science Self-Improvement Shameless Self-Promotion Signs of the Times Technology Television Theology Thirty Three Things Videos Virtues Worldviews

Select a Month December 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who was Abraham's nephew?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Lot Isaac Jacob Ishmael