|
President Palin (of Alaska)
by Steve Payne & Stan
Brin
 Author
says: what if the Seward Purchase never happened so that Alaska did not
become a sovereign nation until 1991? Please note that the opinions
expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of the author(s).
In 1921, the US offered to
recognize the incipient Soviet Union in exchange for the eastern province of
Magadan, opposite Alaska on the Bering sea. Virtually unpopulated, the area
would be administered by the Alaskan territorial government. The Senate
ratified the treaty, although some noted that the area, especially the
Kamchatka Peninsula, was close to Japan and might be considered a ripe plum.
Those predictions were realized when Japan attacked the US anchorage at Seal
Harbor, on Kamchatka, on Dec. 7, 1941, forcing the US into the Second World
War.
In 1930, major gold deposits
were discovered in the Magadan territory, causing the population to increase
to as much as 100,000 by 1935. The Japanese invastion of Magadan in 1942 is
believed to have spared Hawaii and Alaska a similar Japanese incusion. Known
as "Yamamoto's Folly," the invasion left the Japanese fleet vulnerable to
bombers based in Alaska's Aleutian Islands. The Kamchatka Peninsula was
retaken in 1944, as was Sakhalin six months later.
In 2006, December 4th:
on this day in the Capital City of
Sitka, forty-two
year old Sarah Louise Palin was sworn in as Head of State, becoming not only
the youngest, but also the only woman and American born Alaskan to assume
the Presidency. The centerpiece of her economic stimulus package included a
commitment to sign the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Born in Sandpoint, Idaho, Palin's election signalled a
new focus on the Americas which had become increasingly inevitable since the
new nation gained its independence with the collapse of the Soviet Union
fifteen years before. Ironically, the USSR's predecessor state, the Russian
Empire had considered selling the territory on at least two separate
occassions.
Following negotiations with representatives of the Federal Government, on
April 9th 1867, the US Senate rejected ratification ridiculing the purchase
as "Seward's folly", "Seward's icebox", and Andrew Johnson's "polar bear
garden" because it was believed foolhardy to spend so much money on the
remote region. The purchase was briefly considered once again during 1905
when the Federal Government played a formal role in negotiating the end of
the Russo-Japanese War. The Tsar was desperate to refill the coffers of the
exchequer due to the expenses of the disasterous conflict, but his agents
were unable to interest the Federal Government in a purchase of Russian
America.
In a light hearted moment of privacy after the NAFTA signing ceremony in
Washington, Palin joked to fellow Conservative politician John McCain that
had her parents not moved to Wasilla when she was an infant, perhaps she,
and not Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal would have been chosen as Vice
President.
Author
says the idea that the Seward Purchase might fall through is explored on
Google Groups. To view guest historian's comments on this post please
visit the
Today in Alternate History web site.
Steve Payne and Stan Brin, Editor and Guest Historian of
Today in Alternate History, a Daily
Updating Blog of Important Events In History That Never Occurred Today.
Follow us on
Facebook, Myspace and
Twitter.
Imagine what would be, if history had occurred a bit
differently. Who says it didn't, somewhere? These fictional news items
explore that possibility. Possibilities such as America becoming a Marxist
superpower, aliens influencing human history in the 18th century and Teddy
Roosevelt winning his 3rd term as president abound in this interesting
fictional blog.
Sitemetre
 |
