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As with so much of the Trump presidency, the rhetoric and tone is new, but the ideas are very, very old.
A plane carrying Donald Trump Jr. lands in Nuuk, Greenland, January 7, 2025. (Image: Emil Stach/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)
Former US secretary of state William Seward once called the 1867 purchase of Alaska (for a modern equivalent of US$132 million, or 2 cents per acre in the money of the time) the greatest achievement of his career. That this career had by then included being probably the most senior and trusted member of Abraham Lincoln’s fractious cabinet during the American Civil War, not to mention surviving the brutal attempt on his life (which came the night the same conspiracy had succeeded in killing Lincoln) says something about how highly Seward prioritised US expansionism.
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About the author
Charlie Lewis is Crikey’s reporter-at-large, focusing on politics, culture, history and the US. Got a tip? Contact him securely on Signal @clewis.25. He was Crikey’s Tips and Murmurs editor between 2020 and 2025. He has previously worked across government and unions and was a researcher on RN’s Daily Planet. He currently co-hosts Spin Cycle on Triple R radio.
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