A Danish politician is the latest voice from across the Atlantic to forcefully reject President Trump’s proposal for the U.S. to acquire Greenland, telling the newly inaugurated commander in

The story goes that Trump and Frederiksen spoke on the phone last week for about 45 minutes in what was expected to be a bit of a feeling-out between the two parties, given Trump’s very public declaration that he would like to take Greenland off Denmark’s hands.

Yet, just as his counterparts did in the past, Trump may find that "buying the Arctic" is not as straightforward as he thinks. In 1865, in the wake of the Civil War, the U.S. began looking to expand its influence on the world stage.