![]() ![]() official suggest that Stoeckl-with Seward’s knowledge- likewise made tens of thousands of dollars in illicit payments to members of Congress. Private notes written by Johnson and another U.S. A congressional investigation later determined that Stoeckl, the Russian minister, bribed lobbyists and journalists during this time period. Moreover, a prominent Massachusetts family claimed it should receive some of the $7.2 million as repayment for arms it allegedly provided Russia during the Crimean War.įinally, in July 1868, after Johnson lost the Democratic presidential nomination, the House of Representatives voted 113-43 to hand over the money to Russia. Intent on embarrassing President Johnson, who was impeached in February 1868 (but who survived removal from office by one vote), House Republicans refused to appropriate any cash for the purchase. The Russian troops departed, and all Russian civilians were given the option of becoming U.S. All interactions between the Russians and Americans “were of the friendliest character,” reported Rousseau, who would go on to describe the climate (“rains a great deal”), the people (“quiet, orderly and law-abiding”), the fisheries (“very fine”) and even the potatoes (“small…but of the finest flavor”). ![]() flag was raised in a ceremony attended by Russian and American troops and a few indigenous leaders. “It is a complicated legacy,” Rubin said.Later that day, the Russian flag was taken down and the U.S. Rubin said he is proud of his art but also wants to encourage discussion about Seward, who helped Lincoln produce the Emancipation Proclamation and sold land to Harriet Tubman that was used as part of the Underground Railroad. Seward was an imperfect figure, but his legacy in Alaska is important, said Dave Rubin, the artist who crafted the statue with his sister, Judith. “His imperialistic vision was founded on white supremacy.” “Seward embodied Manifest Destiny,” Worl said in a letter to the Juneau Empire. Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl said removing the statue would be consistent with long-held views of Southeast Alaska Native residents. LaRoe suggested replacing Seward’s statue with a monument to Alaska civil rights icon Elizabeth Peratrovich. Sara Hannan, both Democrats, whose districts include downtown Juneau.Įfforts to reach Kiehl and Hannan were not immediately successful. The statue is owned by the State of Alaska, which also owns Dimond Courthouse Plaza where the statue is located, making the state responsible for its removal. ![]() “(Alaska Natives) didn’t sell their land to the U.S., and that wrong has never been corrected,” LaRoe said. Russian America, as it was called, was a vast frozen wasteland. The statue is a symbol of white, patriarchal authority and the disenfranchisement of Alaska Natives, she said. When William Seward proposed the purchase of Alaska in 1867, his peers thought he had gone mad. cabinet secretary, Seward, who arranged the purchase of the state’s land from Russia. Petitioners have called for the removal of the statue depicting the U.S. In this May 18 file photo, a statue of William Seward wears a mask outside the Alaska Capitol in Juneau. The opposition to the statue is not based on Seward himself, said LaRoe, who acknowledged his role as an abolitionist in President Abraham Lincoln’s administration. The purchase arranged by the secretary of state was ridiculed at the time as “Seward’s Folly” by critics who also called the territory “Seward’s Icebox.” The $250,000 statue unveiled in 2017 depicts Seward holding the 1867 Treaty of Cession, which authorized the sale of the Alaska Territory to the U.S. More than 1,300 people had signed the petition as of Friday, although the online format does not require signers to be Alaska residents. Seward from a plaza in the state’s capital city, The Juneau Empire reported Saturday. Juneau resident Jennifer LaRoe launched a petition last week to remove a statue of William H. cabinet secretary who arranged the purchase of the state’s land from Russia. JUNEAU (AP) - Petitioners have called for the removal of a statue in Alaska depicting the U.S. Petition Seeks to Move Juneau’s Seward Statue ![]()
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