the sculpture is one of william seward and alaskans celebrate day inear, seward's made of the negotiator who alaska part of the united states. we are looking at a canon that was brought to alaska in 1867 by the first detachment of u.s. followings, sent here the ratification of the alaska treaty. with russia. the troops were sent to set up some forts and alaska and to start the process of americanizing russian america. took several decades to accomplish. there was no civilian government in alaska until 1882. before that, starting with the u.s. army, it was under military rule pretty much. first the army, then the navy, then the revenue cutter service really served many of the basic functions of government. frankly, they could not -- they were not designed for that purpose. they were not able to do it very effectively. much nots pretty seriously governed for the first 30 years or so of its existence under the u.s. flag. the flag itself that we have on display is one of the first american flags to be flown in alaska around the time of the purchase in 1867. were reallyves pushed of their pos

. ♪ >> about 70 years ago in 1867, secretary of state william seward.ska from russia for point $2 million. thousands of citizens protested, calling it a waste of public money. alaska became known as a seward's folly. today there is no man better qualified to give you a true picture of alaska than farther -- father bernard hubbard, an explorer who has spent over 10 years in our great northern territory. ago,r hubbard: 10 years with my loyal young college men i thoughtul dog, alaska was a worthless knob of land on top of america, where amidos lived in a close snow and ice. i was certainly surprised that it was anything but this. popular notions about alaska are for the most part all wrong. it is the least understood of any united states territory. its size, its expanse and its great variety are by no means comprehended. land no onethe knows. nhe best way to get a idea of the true size of alaska is to move it down to the united states. although only 1/5 as large as the united states and square miles, nevertheless alaska touches all four borders of our coun

in the plaza is a statue of william henry seward. iam henry seward with the secretary of state for president abraham lincoln. in 1867, he negotiated a treaty with the russian minister to the that resulted in transferring russian america, at the time, to the united states which was later renamed alaska. it commemorate -- we commemorated the 150th anniversary of the treaty. one of the events was constructing of the statue of william henry stewart -- seward. it is very prominent in many of the photographs of the capital today. right now, we are standing in the lobby of the ground floor. it is a very low ceiling space. it is not as dynamic as some of the other capitals where you enter and it is a big rotunda. it is a welcoming place. the lobby is surrounded by tim keen marble which is the same marble that is used in the columns outside. it is used here on the floor and on the walls. it is another representation of using alaska resources in the construction of the building. we have moved to the chambers for the house of representatives on

one is across the street, in the plaza, the statue of william henry seward. he was the secretary of state for president abraham lincoln. in 1867, he negotiated a treaty with the russian minister to the united states that resulted in transferring russian america at , to the united states, when it became alaska. -- constructing of a statue of henry seward across the capital, and that is prominent in the foreground of many photographs of the capital today. right now, we are standing in the lobby of the ground floor, a very low ceiling space. not as dynamic as some of the other capitals where you enter and there's a big rotunda, it is a very welcoming place. the lobby is surrounded by the same marble as used in the columns outside, used here in the floor and on the walls. it is another representation of using alaska resources in the construction of the building. we have moved to the chambers for the house of representatives on the east wing, the end of the east wing, the second floor of the capitol building. the is the same location original house of representati

william seward giving advice behind the throne to andrew johnson. the black people of the south, forces of law and order in new orleans. the mobs of mixed confederates. butchered them by a system of law that meant nothing but lawlessness for some. a vote for black people in the south was a hearing and bold thing. it was not accepted by much of the white south and it could be resisted with the aid of the government. so it is not very surprising that when johnson came up for trial, they would be senators who from the first would were determined this man should go, whether he had broken any law or not. charles sumner, a radical republican from massachusetts, was only sorry that he could only say guilty or not guilty when asked how he stood on johnson, because he would have liked to have answered guilty of that and so much more. well that should not be in the remotest sense surprising. what makes it worse is that andrew johnson is, well, he is not, shall we say, not very presidential, not by the standards of the 19th century. it could be added, he is ex

. ♪ >> about 70 years ago in 1867, secretary of state william h. seward bought alaska from russia .hen the purchase was announced, thousands of citizens throughout the united states protested, calling it a waste of public money, and alaska became known as a seward's folly, right or wrong in their conclusion. today, there is no man better qualified to give you a true picture of alaska than father bernard hubbard, known as the glacier priest, a jesuit explorer who has spent over 10 years in our great northern territory. father hubbard: 10 years ago, and with my loyal young college men and faithful dogs, i undertook a scientific explanation to the north. i thought alaska was a worthless knob of land on top of america, .here eskimos lived in igloos i was certainly surprised that it was anything but this. popular notions of alaska are, for the most part, all wrong. it is the least understood of any united states territory. its size, its expanse, and its great variety are by no means comprehended. it is truly the land that nobody knows. ♪ the best way to get an idea of the true size of al