How does the US originally view purchase of Alaska?

Initially, many in the United States were critical of Seward's purchase of Alaska, derisively calling it "Seward's Icebox", "Seward's Folly", and other derogatory slang phrases due to the perception of little economic or strategic value in comparison to its $7.2 million (approximately $123 million equivalent to present-day) price tag—just over two cents an acre at a time of economic recession and social change brought by The Civil War.