As the United States expanded westward in the early s, Americans soon found themselves in competition with Russian explorers and traders. Petersburg, however, lacked the financial resources to support major settlements or a military presence along the Pacific coast of North America and permanent Russian settlers in Alaska never numbered more than four hundred.
Defeat in the Crimean War further reduced Russian interest in this region. The looming U. The Senate approved the treaty of purchase on April 9; President Andrew Johnson signed the treaty on May 28, and Alaska was formally transferred to the United States on October 18, The show was considered groundbreaking for its realistic portrayal of a working-class family and the issues they faced. The arrests came at a tempestuous time for the couple.
Only days earlier, an announcement was made that Ono was pregnant, creating a scandal because both Lennon and Ono On October 18, , the American philosopher-inventor R. Buckminster Fuller applies for a patent for his Dymaxion Car. On October 18, , Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon complete their survey of the boundary between the colonies of Pennsylvania and Maryland as well as areas that would eventually become the states of Delaware and West Virginia.
The Penn and Calvert families had hired Mason and After joining the BEF in , Farr was sent to the front in Live TV. This Day In History. History Vault. US Government. United States. Article I of the treaty provided for Russia to cede its territories in America, with defined boundaries. Article II provided for the transfer of property, except for property individually owned and for property owned by the Greek Orthodox Church, and for the transfer of "government archives, papers, and documents.
Article III provided for the inhabitants except for the "uncivilized native tribes" to either return to Russia within three years or stay there and become American citizens. Article IV provided for Russia to appoint agents for the convenient transfer of the property, but the cession was to be considered "complete and absolute" upon the exchange of ratifications.
Article V provided for the withdrawal of Russian troops as soon as practicable following the exchange of ratifications. Article VII provided for the exchange of ratifications to take place within three months, or sooner if practicable. Seward, hoping for rapid Senate approval of the treaty, wasted no time.
By 10 a. Both Johnson and Seward signed the presidential proclamation calling the Senate into special session on Monday, April 1. Johnson also submitted a formal message to the Senate requesting its advice and consent to the treaty, and the Senate referred it to the Foreign Relations Committee. Seward lined up newspaper support only Horace Greeley's New York Tribune opposed the treaty and wined and dined influential senators.
The key was Chairman Charles Sumner of Massachusetts. Sumner was upset because Seward had failed to consult with senators in the negotiating process and refused to consider postponing treaty approval, but he overcame his objections. Drawing upon the resources of the Smithsonian Institution and the Library of Congress, Sumner quickly became an expert on Russian America.
Instead of simply not opposing the treaty, he became its most ardent advocate. After four closed-door committee sessions over a ten-day period, Sumner finally secured committee approval on Monday morning, April 8.
When the full Senate met in executive session that afternoon, Sumner spoke for three hours from a single sheet of notes, providing an exhaustive summary of the argument favoring the purchase. Later published as the "Speech of Hon. Charles Sumner, of Massachusetts, on the Cession of Russian America to the United States," the original handwritten draft of the manuscript filled pages. It was during that speech that Sumner first used the word "Alaska" to describe Russian America.
On the following day, after six more hours of debate, the full Senate finally approved the treaty by a thirty-seven to two vote. Tsar Alexander ratified the treaty on May 3, Stoeckl received word on May 15 that the ratified treaty was on its way to the United States, and he notified Seward. Even though President Johnson did not formally ratify the treaty until May 28, , Stoeckl agreed on May 22 to Seward's request to immediately send American troops to Alaska. Finally, at Seward's insistence, ratifications were exchanged on June 20, , in Washington, two weeks earlier than planned.
The commissioners named to effect the exchange were Brig. Lovell H. Rousseau and Capt. Alexis Peshchurov. They went to San Francisco and then sailed to Sitka for the formal exchange on October 18, Although the ceremony started smoothly, there were complications.
The Russian flag got stuck, and could not be lowered. Russian officials prepared a formal protocol listing government property but not private property to be transferred to the United States, plus a map showing the locations of the buildings and churches. A formal exchange document was signed by Rousseau and Peshchurov.
In the end, Alaska belonged to the United States, by treaty as well as by possession.
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