Seward's Day in United States

Seward's Day is a state holiday in Alaska (coastal Alaska pictured above). ©iStockphoto.com/Bill Grove

What do people do?

Many Alaskans have a day off work or school on Seward’s Day. Celebrations are held in places such as Anchorage, Seward and Sitka. Events and activities may include:

• Special history programs about Alaska.
• Storytelling events for people of all ages.
• Historical slideshow shows about Alaska’s history.

Schools may provide educational activities, such as essays, reports and class discussions about William Seward’s life and achievements in relation Alaska’s history, prior to the Seward’s Day public holiday.

Public life

Seward’s Day is a public holiday in Alaska so government offices, schools and many businesses are closed. Those intending on travelling by public transport on this day will need to check the public transport schedules for any changes ahead of time. If Seward’s Day falls on a Saturday it is observed on the Friday before. If it falls on a Sunday it is observed the following Monday.

Background

Seward’s Day commemorates when the United States bought Alaska from Russia for about $7.2 million in 1867. William Henry Seward, who was Secretary of State at the time, signed the treaty with Russia on March 30, 1867. Many people thought that the price was outrageously high and called the action “Seward’s folly” or “Seward’s icebox” after he arranged the transaction.

Many Americans believed that there was nothing in the vast wasteland that would interest them. The Russians suffered great losses when they owned the land and the cost of maintaining a remote outpost was great so they sold the land to the United States. Doubters’ opinions changed in 1897 when gold was discovered along the Klondike River, drawing many fortune seekers to the area.

Alaska’s natural resources paid back the initial investment many times over. Its natural gas, coal and oil reserves, in addition to its seafood and lumber industries, eventually proved to be more valuable than its gold. Seward died in New York in 1872 and did not live to see his foresight commemorated as a legal holiday in Alaska.

Symbols

Memorials and landmarks dedicated to William Seward are found in Alaska and other parts of the United States. For example, Seward Park is found in Seattle, Washington. The city of Seward is also named after William Seward. It is located on the Kenai Peninsula at the head of Resurrection Bay and was founded in 1903 as a supply base to construct a railway to the Yukon Valley. A popular figure that represents William Henry Seward is perched on top of a pole in Ketchikan, Alaska.

Seward's Day Observances

Related holiday

• Alaska Day–Sunday, October 18, 2009, Observed: Monday, October 19, 2009

Other holidays in March 2009 in United States

• St. David's Day (Sunday, March 1, 2009)
• Texas Independence Day (Monday, March 2, 2009)
• Daylight Saving Time starts (Sunday, March 8, 2009)
• International Women's Day (Sunday, March 8, 2009)
• Prophet's Birthday (Monday, March 9, 2009)
• Purim (Tuesday, March 10, 2009)
• St. Patrick's Day (Tuesday, March 17, 2009)
• Evacuation Day (Tuesday, March 17, 2009)
• Vernal equinox (Friday, March 20, 2009)
• International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (Saturday, March 21, 2009)
• World Water Day (Sunday, March 22, 2009)
• World Meteorological Day (Monday, March 23, 2009)
• Maryland Day (Wednesday, March 25, 2009)
• International Day of Remembrance of Slavery Victims and the Transatlantic Slave Trade (Wednesday, March 25, 2009)
• Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole Day (Thursday, March 26, 2009)
• César Chávez Day (Tuesday, March 31, 2009)

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