The Alaska Purchase: Location, Date, and Terms of the 1867 Russia-U.S. Deal

Alaska occupies the northwestern extremity of North America, separated from Asia by the Bering Strait (82 km / 51 mi at narrowest).

The Purchase (Seward's Folly / Seward's Icebox)

• Date: March 30, 1867 (treaty signed); October 18, 1867 (formal transfer at Sitka).
• Parties: Russian Empire (Alexander II) → United States (Andrew Johnson, Sec. State William H. Seward).
• Price: $7.2 million (≈ $133M in 2024 dollars) — 2¢/acre.
• Area: 1,518,800 km² (586,412 sq mi) — 20% of current U.S. land area.

Why Russia Sold

• Overextended after Crimean War (1853–56); couldn't defend against Britain.
• Fur trade declining (sea otters depleted).
• Fear of U.S. annexation (Manifest Destiny) or British seizure.
• Focus on Amur/Primorsky regions (Vladivostok founded 1860).

Why U.S. Bought

• Seward's vision: Pacific empire, resources, trade with Asia.
• Strategic: Naval bases, coaling stations, telegraph route (Collins Overland Telegraph).
• Domestic politics: Distraction from Reconstruction; supported by Charles Sumner.

Transfer Ceremony

October 18, 1867, Castle Hill, Sitka (Novo-Arkhangelsk). Russian flag lowered, U.S. flag raised. 250 U.S. troops, Russian officials, Tlingit observers. Double-headed eagle → Stars and Stripes.

Legacy

Gold (1896 Klondike), oil (Prudhoe Bay 1968), fisheries, strategic military (Cold War, now Arctic), tourism. ROI: incalculable. "Seward's Folly" → Seward's foresight.