The Purchase of Alaska by the United States of America in 1867 in the Light of the American Press

Abstract

In the 19^th century, Russia was one of the most territorially expansive states in the world. However, a century and a half ago there was a spectacular sale of a part of its territory to a foreign state. This large-for-the-time financial transaction did not escape the attention of the world opinion expressed in periodicals. Particularly interesting is the coverage of this event in the press published in the United States between 1867 and 1903. On the basis of the latter, public opinion on the territorial, economic and political implications of the 1867 transaction was analyzed. The research carried out also made it possible to outline the media resonance of the United States of America in the second half of the 19^th century, i.e. a media reconstruction of the problems operating in the reality of the time, and in the case of this work, mainly those concerning the new territorial acquisition.