Issues with Urbanization

1. - Cities Lacked the Ability to deliver increased services

2. - Lack of Mass Transportation

3. - Overcrowding

4. - Social Tensions

Sewards Folly

The Deal: 

• In March 1867, William Henry Seward, as the U.S. Secretary of State, negotiated the purchase of Alaska from the Russian Empire for $7.2 million. 

• Public Discontent: 

  The public and many in the press were not universally supportive. The purchase was seen by some as a wasteful expenditure, especially after the recent Civil War, and was given mocking names like "Seward's Folly".