The Mysteries of History (March 30 Edition)
Alaska Purchase; Batman Debuts; Reagan Shot
1867 — Controversial Purchase of Alaska ("Seward's Folly")
public domain image above from wikimedia commons; image below generated using Bing Image Creator
The following is what I wrote about “Seward’s Folly:” in my book Still Casting Shadows: A Shared Mosaic of U.S. History — Volume 1: 1620-1913:
On October 18th, in Sitka, Alaska, amongst the firing of Russian and American cannon, the Imperial Russian flag was lowered, and the U.S. flag took its place. Alaska was now officially a territory of the United States. Forward-thinking Secretary of State William H. Seward became the butt of jokes for this acquisition. His purchase of Alaska was called “Seward’s folly”; the purchase itself was termed “Seward’s icebox.” There was a method to Seward’s “madness,” though. Natural resources and splendor aside, securing Alaska had geopolitical ramifications that Seward considered vital. Removing Russia from North America was his main aim. Seward felt so strongly about the importance of this that, when asked about his greatest accomplishment late in life, he replied: “The purchase of Alaska! But it will take a generation to find that out.” For a grand total of $7,200,000.00 (about 2.5 cents per acre, slightly less than what America had paid France for the Louisiana Purchase), the “icebox” (which would prove to contain vast oil and coal reserves) has been borne out to be quite a bargain, to say the least. At 586,400 square miles, the state is more than twice the size of Texas.
On this date in 1867, just over two years after Lincoln’s death, Secretary of State William Seward purchased Alaska (on behalf of the United States) for $7 million dollars, or two cents per acre. Quite the bargain, yet at the time he was mocked for buying a giant icebox or “polar bear garden.”
Russia had been trying to “pawn it off” on America for years. After a generation of U.S. ownership, people finally starting relocating there in large numbers after gold was discovered in 1898.
Questions: How long did it take before Russia had “seller’s remorse”? How much oil revenue has Alaska brought in for the United States up until now? What is the tallest mountain in the United States? How much larger is Alaska than Texas. If you were to flatten Alaska out (Alaska is very mountainous, whereas Texas is flatter than a flapjack for the most part)? Have you read James Michener’s Alaska? Have you read Jack London’s The Call of the Wild? White Fang? How about his short story To Build a Fire?
1939 — Batman Makes His Presence Known
public domain image from wikimedia commons
Batman first appeared in “Detective Comics” on this date in 1939, but later that year, he got a comic book of his own. The following is what I wrote about that in my book Still Casting Shadows: A Shared Mosaic of U.S. History — Volume 2: 1914-2006:
DC Comics followed up on it success of the previous year with the man of steel who came from space and landed in a grain field in Illinois with the debut of Batman. Although he played second fiddle to Superman in terms of popularity for decades, the tables would eventually turn: Based on the popularity of the Batman movies of the last few years [this was written c. 2006], the cave-dwelling, butler-employing, ward-raising wannabe-rodent has catapulted into a position even higher than the “Man of Steel.”
Everybody knows Batman; in fact, a lot of people know his “secret identity”: Bruce Wayne. Even by his supposedly obscured name, there’s probably only one Bruce more famous (Springsteen [and maybe Lee, too, but probably not]), and one Wayne almost as famous (Gretzky, unless you also count John Wayne).
But what about the actor’s name? Of course, there have been several in the movies, but the original actor, the one on the television show from the 1960s — can you name him?
Besides the campy-but-cool Batmobile, the millionaire “caped crusader” also had a Batgyro (small helicopter) and a Batplane, aircraft which he housed in his Batcave, just a fireman’s pole slide below his mansion.
A year ago (April 2024), a copy of Detective Comics No. 27 (Batman's debut) was auctioned for $1,825,000. This is enough money to feed 60,883 starving children for an entire year (according to worldhelp.net, a starving or malnourished child can be fed for a year for a mere $30). Priorities, people!
Questions: In the Batman television series (1966-1968), who played Robin? How many actors have played Batman in the movies? Which one was your favorite? Do you have any Batman comics? Do you have any comics? Did you know that there was a time when comic books only cost 10 cents? Who was Adam West? What would make you feel better: to own a copy of Detective Comics No. 27 (even one in pristine condition) or to be able to feed tens of thousands of children for a yar (or thousands for ten years, or hundreds for the rest of their lives)?
1981 — Ronald Reagan and Three Others Shot
public domain images from wikimedia commons
U.S. President Ronald Reagan was shot in the chest by a would-be assassin on this date in 1981 outside a Washington, D.C. hotel. He survived.
Others accompanying Reagan were also shot: Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy, Policeman Thomas Delahanty, and White House Press Secretary James Brady, who was shot in the head and critically injured — and, in fact, although he survived for another 33 years, his death was considered a homicide caused by that gunshot, which left him partially paralyzed.
Without knowing anything further about the perpetrator, you would be excused if you first assumed he was anti-Irish (all of the victims: Reagan, McCarthy, Delahanty, and Brady were of Irish descent). But the attack was not personal: the shooter simply wanted to impress actress Jodie Foster, with whom he had a fascination. In fact, he had earlier planned to shoot Jimmy Carter, an entirely different type of President.
McCarthy and Delahanty are still with us.
Questions: How many assassinations of U.S. Presidents have there been? How many failed attempts? What did McKinley say after he had been shot? Why was Garfield (James, not the cat) shot?
Read about “The Secret Lives of Kids” here.
