A petition to the Obama administration for the secession of Alaska back to Russia has reached more than 10,000 signatures in three days.
The petition, entitled "Alaska Back to Russia", was created by an unnamed Anchorage resident on Thursday, and has gathered signatures from Alaska and several other states. It cites historical evidence of previous visitors and claimants for ownership of the territory.
A similar petition was previously presented for the secession of Texas, but despite surpassing the 100,000 signatures required for consideration, the White House denied the petition in a lengthy response:
"Our founding fathers established the Constitution of the United States 'in order to form a more perfect union' through the hard and frustrating but necessary work of self-government. They enshrined in that document the right to change our national government through the power of the ballot -- a right that generations of Americans have fought to secure for all. But they did not provide a right to walk away from it."
The petition must reach 100,000 signatures by April 20, 2014, in order to be considered by the current presidential administration for review and an official response. The White House petition site currently has 120 petitions gathering signatures and awaiting consideration.
Alaska was bought by the United States in 1867 from Russia in a treaty ratified by the U.S. Senate. Known as "Seward's Folly", the U.S. received 586,412 square miles for $7.2 million, an average of two cents per acre.