1. "The great rule of conduct for us, in regard to foreign nations, is in extending our commercial relations to have as little political connection as possible... Why, by interweaving our destiny with that of any part of Europe, entangle our peace and prosperity in the toils of European ambition, rivalships, interest, humor, or caprice?... It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world.“ George Washington - September
caprice – change in mood or behavior

2. CHAPTER 6 – RISE TO WORLD POWER- U. S
CHAPTER 6 – RISE TO WORLD POWER- U.S. EXPANSION LESSON 1 – SEEKING NEW FRONTIERS
Objective: To examine the “unlocking of Japan” and the purchase of Alaska.
: 1) What is the definition of the term isolationism?
Isolationism - to have little to do with the political affairs of other nations
2) Why was the United States an isolationist country?
Beginning with the advice of George Washington, America wanted to avoid being dragged into Europe’s frequent wars.

3. Unlocking Japan
· Fearing the influence of outsiders, Japan chose to completely isolate itself from other nations in the 1600’s.
“The continuation of…the intention of introducing the Christian religion having come to our knowledge, it is impossible to look on with indifference. If in future foreign vessels should come near any port whatsoever, the local inhabitants shall…drive them away; but should they go away peaceably it is not necessary to pursue them. Should any foreigners land anywhere, they must be arrested or killed, and if the ship approaches the shore it must be destroyed.” – Japanese policy, 1825
Source: “When Japan was a secret.” The Economist December 22nd 2007 – January 4th 2008: 63.

4. Why did the U.S. want to establish a relationship with Japan?
1. TRADE – to sell U.S. goods to Japanese consumers
2. SAILORS – to ensure proper treatment of shipwrecked U.S. sailors
3. FUEL – to purchase fuel (coal) from the Japanese for U.S. whaling and fishing ships

5. - President Fillmore sent Commodore Matthew Perry to Japan in 1853.
Japanese portrayal of Commodore Matthew Perry
Commodore Matthew Perry

6. - Perry arrived with four steam-powered warships, impressing the Japanese.
(Above) Commodore Perry’s “Black Ships in 1853
(Left) a Japanese ship, 1850’s; made so Japanese sailors would be unable to sail beyond the shores of Japan

7. Perry returned to Japan in 1854 with twice as many ships.
The Treaty of Kanagawa was signed in March of 1854, in which the U.S. received all of their demands from the Japanese.
Commodore Perry Meeting the Imperial Commissioners at Yokohama

8. Dinner Given to the Japanese Commissioners Aboard the U. S. S. F
Dinner Given to the Japanese Commissioners Aboard the U.S.S.F. Powhatan

9. Effects on Japan
· Japan realized that they needed to become more modern and industrialized.
In 1860, Japan sent their first steam powered warship, the Kanrin Maru to the United States in order to show the world that Japan had mastered Western navigation techniques and ship technologies.

10. Alaska
· Secretary of State William Seward bought Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million in 1867.
Secretary of State William Seward

11. 1867 map from U. S. Coast Survey Office
· Many Americans referred to the purchase as “Seward’s Folly” or “Seward’s Icebox”, thinking Alaska was a barren wasteland.
1867 map from U. S. Coast Survey Office

12. “Seward’s Folly”: 1867
$7.2 million

13. On March 30, 1867, the United States agreed to purchase Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million dollars, about two cents an acre; "Seward's Folly" many called it, after Secretary of State William H. Seward. A check for $7,200, was issued on August 1, 1868.

14. Thomas Nast ridicules the purchase of Alaska from Russia by depicting Secretary of State William H. Seward as an elderly mother caring for her child, a small version of Pres. Andrew Johnson dressed as Uncle Sam. On the wall poster in the cartoon’s background, Uncle Sam is shown trudging in snowshoes across the icy tundra, planting American flags on Alaskan mountaintops, as polar bears and walruses watch. A picture of an Eskimo family is sarcastically labeled “One of the Advantages.”

16. Alaska, however, turned out to be rich in fish, gold, copper, timber, oil and coal.
Oil discovered in 1968
Alaska becomes state in 1959
The Trans-Alaska Pipeline transports oil, Alaska's most important export.. It runs 800 miles, from the Arctic Ocean to the Gulf of Alaska at Valdez.

17. Trans-Alaska Pipeline System