III 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 111 

Celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Alaska Purchase. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 4, 2017 

Mr. SULLIVAN (for himself and Ms. MURKOWSKI) submitted the following 

resolution; which was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Alaska Purchase. 

Whereas Secretary of State William H. Seward agreed to 

purchase Alaska from Russia on March 30, 1867, for approximately 2 cents per acre; 

Whereas the Senate ratified the treaty with Russia regarding 

the purchase of Alaska on April 9, 1867, and the House 

of Representatives approved the fund appropriation for 

that purchase on July 14, 1868; 

Whereas, on August 1, 1868, the Envoy Extraordinary and 

Minister Plenipotentiary of His Majesty the Emperor of 

all the Russias acknowledged that $7,200,000 had been 

received from the United States Treasury as payment in 

full for the cession of Alaska; 

Whereas New Archangel, later Sitka, served as— 


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•SRES 111 ATS 

(1) the capital of the territory of Alaska from the 

time of Russian rule until 1906; and 

(2) the location for the signing of the Alaska Purchase on October 18, 1867; 

Whereas Alaska is home to— 

(1) the highest mountain peak in North America, 

Denali, which rises 20,310 feet above sea level; 

(2) the northernmost, easternmost, and westernmost 

points of the United States; 

(3) more active glaciers and ice fields than in the 

rest of the inhabited world; 

(4) a variety of animal species, including— 

(A) the largest concentration of American Bald 

Eagles and the largest species of brown bear in the 

United States; and 

(B) 90 percent of the sea otters in the world; 

(5) 24 national parks, including the 5 largest national parks in the United States, Wrangell–St. Elias National Park, the Gates of the Arctic National Park and 

Preserve, Denali National Park and Preserve, Katmai 

National Park and Preserve, and Glacier Bay National 

Park, which, together, are larger than the 8 smallest 

States combined; 

(6) the 2 largest national forests in the United 

States, the Tongass and Chugach National Forests, 

spanning more than 37,000 square miles; 

(7) more than 38 percent of the shoreline and nearly 

54 percent of the coastline of the United States; and 

(8) more Federal land than there is total land in the 

States of Texas and Nebraska combined; 

Whereas, in 1913, the first act of the first Territorial Legislature of Alaska was to grant women suffrage; 


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Whereas there are 229 federally recognized tribes in Alaska 

and 20 Alaska Native languages are spoken in the State; 

Whereas, on December 18, 1971, the landmark Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) was 

signed into law, which established 13 Alaska Native Regional Corporations and more than 200 Alaska Native 

Village Corporations; 

Whereas more than 44,000,000 acres of land in Alaska are 

under Alaska Native ownership; 

Whereas the 3 most diverse census tracts in the United 

States are located in the Municipality of Anchorage; 

Whereas, during World War II, the Imperial Japanese Navy 

invaded and occupied portions of the Aleutian Islands of 

Alaska; 

Whereas Alaska has— 

(1) 12 major military bases and stations that are 

home to honorable men and women who serve the United 

States in the Armed Forces; and 

(2) the highest number of veterans in the United 

States per capita; 

Whereas some of the highest producing oil and natural gas 

fields in the United States are on the North Slope in 

Alaska; 

Whereas more crude oil has been produced from State lands 

on the North Slope in Alaska than from Federal lands 

in the Central Gulf of Mexico; 

Whereas the ports of Alaska consistently process the highest 

volume of commercial seafood that lands in the United 

States; 


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Whereas Alaska has vast reserves of minerals and the Red 

Dog Mine is one of the largest zinc mines in the world; 

Whereas Alaska has produced world record-breaking agricultural products, such as the heaviest cabbage at 138.25 

pounds and the heaviest broccoli at 35 pounds; 

Whereas the Aurora Borealis is visible from Fairbanks an average of 243 days each year; 

Whereas Girdwood was recognized by National Geographic as 

the world’s best ski town; 

Whereas, in the northernmost town in Alaska, the sun does 

not set for approximately 80 days in the summer and 

does not rise for approximately 60 days in the heart of 

winter; 

Whereas President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the proclamation admitting Alaska to the United States on January 3, 1959; and 

Whereas Alaska is the largest State in the United States in 

land area at more than 586,000 square miles and constitutes almost 1⁄5 the size of the contiguous United 

States: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate commends the State of 

2 Alaska on, and joins with the people of the State of Alaska 

3 in celebrating, the 150th anniversary of the Alaska Pur4 chase. 

Æ 


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