Anybody feel guilty that we only paid the Indians $24. for Manhattan Island? We didn't give the Russians much.

Question

for Alaska either. Is that good business, or greed?

Answer 1

Both sides were happy with the deals, so it was good business—we were fortunate that it evolved in our favor as well as it did. Good business..

Answer 2

Well, WE didn't, so I don't have anything to feel guilty about. The dutch settlers did, and it was good business. Dutch needed the land, the indians agreed on the price, or just grew to like alcohol more than their land. I don't know if the dutch anticipated that Manhattan will be such a hot piece of land, but they made the most of it and it paid.
As for Alaska and russians, greed was on the part of russians, who chose money instead of strategic land mass. But then again, they've got plenty of land, and if they didn't sell it back then, Alaska would be just as barren as most of russian north-west.

Answer 3

Both sides made an agreement (each thinking they got the better deal) . That is a law of business.
$24 then is nothing like it is today.
When I was in my mid teens we bought a house for $1500 and now they say it is worth about $80-85,000 . This much increase in dollar amount in less than 40 years shows that the actual dollar amount can be deceiving in what the value is equal to. just think 200 years of this inflation/value, so was it realy such a bad deal?
I remimber working for ten cents an hour and making good money. realy not that long ago.
Three cents for a loaf of bread , twenty three cents for a chickin , a hamburger for twentynine cents. McDonalds BigMac for eighteen cents.

I miss the seventy's

Answer 4

good business. But you have to think that back then the dollar was much more expensive then it is now. 5 cents could buy you a big loaf of bread to. Think what $24 could do? Manhatten Island isn't that big anyway, but Alaska costs 7 million dollars. Remember, 7 million back then could practically buy a whole state!

Answer 5

The Russians got a good deal for the time, if you concede that no one knew of the gold or the oil (which we had no use for at the time).

The Indians thought they'd pulled a swift one on the Dutch, since to their thinking, no one can OWN land! It was like selling the sky!

Answer 6

Hmmm....guilty? I don't feel guilt. I do feel bad. There is no reason I should feel guilt. Should I feel guilty for those who died in US wars? Would I feel guilty about past laws and amendments? Should I feel guilty about slavery, or oppression? NO. If i felt guilty for every greedy thing this nation has done, I would be in a constant state of depression. Truth of the matter is, its in the past. And I didn't have anything to do with those decisions. If it did bother me I think It would bother me more that we basically killed entire races of Native Americans, and drove the Russians to a depression during the Cold War.

Answer 7

good business!