Alaska was economically worthless

E82710

economic myth historical misconception

"Alaska was economically worthless" reflects the 19th-century misconception that the Alaska Territory, purchased from Russia in 1867, lacked significant economic value or resources.

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Statements (46)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	economic myth ⓘ historical misconception ⓘ
appliesToTerritory	Alaska ⓘ surface form: Alaska Territory
associatedWithCountry	Russian Empire ⓘ United States of America ⓘ surface form: United States
associatedWithEvent	Alaska Purchase ⓘ surface form: Alaska Purchase of 1867
characterizedBy	belief that Alaska lacked valuable resources ⓘ skepticism about economic returns ⓘ underestimation of natural resources ⓘ
contradictedBy	Klondike Gold Rush (1897–1898) ⓘ surface form: Klondike Gold Rush development of fishing industry in Alaska ⓘ development of timber industry in Alaska ⓘ discovery of oil in Alaska ⓘ later discovery of gold in Alaska ⓘ strategic military importance of Alaska ⓘ
contrastsWith	modern view of Alaska as resource-rich ⓘ recognition of Alaska's fisheries value ⓘ recognition of Alaska's mineral wealth ⓘ recognition of Alaska's oil reserves ⓘ recognition of Alaska's strategic geopolitical value ⓘ
currentStatus	considered a myth in modern historiography ⓘ recognized as historically inaccurate ⓘ
evaluationContext	limited knowledge of Arctic resources in 19th century ⓘ post–American Civil War economic concerns ⓘ
hasOrigin	reaction to 1867 purchase price of Alaska ⓘ
hasPerspectiveOf	many contemporary U.S. politicians ⓘ segments of U.S. press in 1860s ⓘ some U.S. taxpayers in 19th century ⓘ
hasTopic	19th-century economic perceptions ⓘ Alaska Purchase ⓘ Alaska ⓘ surface form: Alaska Territory United States expansion ⓘ
language	English ⓘ
perceivedValue	low economic value ⓘ
purchasePriceContext	Alaska purchased for 7.2 million US dollars ⓘ
refersTo	perception of Alaska Territory after 1867 purchase ⓘ
relatedToConcept	Seward's Folly ⓘ Seward’s Icebox ⓘ surface form: Seward's Icebox
relatedToDebate	U.S. imperial expansion ⓘ cost-benefit of Alaska Purchase ⓘ
relatedToPerson	Andrew Johnson ⓘ William H. Seward ⓘ
timePeriod	late 19th century ⓘ
usedAsExampleOf	historical misperception of territorial value ⓘ misjudgment of resource potential ⓘ short-sighted economic evaluation ⓘ

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Seward’s Icebox → implies → Alaska was economically worthless ⓘ