Newspapers mocked the Alaska purchase with which nickname?

• A. Sewards Folly
• B. Sewards Icebox
• C. Polar Bear Garden
• D. Icebox Alaska

Answer: (A)

The question tests an understanding of how the Alaska Purchase was publicly perceived at the time it happened. Newspapers mocked the deal by calling it a jest of a purchase, with the nickname emphasizing that people thought it was foolish or unnecessary. The best-supported term is a phrase tied to Secretary of State William H. Seward, who arranged the 1867 sale from Russia. Calling the acquisition “Seward’s Folly” captured the idea that Seward’s plan was foolish or misguided in the eyes of critics, because Alaska seemed vast but empty and worthless to many observers at that moment.

Seward’s Folly became the iconic label because it directly invokes the sense of foolishness about the purchase, not just the cold climate. While some sources and later media used variants like “Seward’s Icebox” to highlight the frigid nature of the land, the more enduring and widely used mocking nickname is Seward’s Folly. The purchase cost about $7.2 million in 1867, which critics used to question the value of a frozen expanse, a doubt that the nickname embodies. Over time, of course, Alaska’s rich resources and strategic location showed the deal’s wisdom, but the nickname reflects the initial skepticism in popular culture.