How the United States Acquired Alaska: Seward's Folly or Masterstroke?

On March 30, 1867, the United States purchased Russian America (Alaska) from the Russian Empire for $7.2 million — about 2 cents per acre ($4.74/km²). The treaty was ratified by the Senate (37–2) on April 9; formal transfer occurred October 18, 1867 at Sitka.

Key Figures

• William H. Seward (US Secretary of State, Lincoln & Johnson administrations) — chief architect.
• Eduard de Stoeckl (Russian Minister to US) — negotiated for Tsar Alexander II.
• Andrew Johnson (President) — signed the treaty.

Why Russia Sold

• Financial strain: Crimean War (1853–56) debts.
• Defensibility: Remote, vulnerable to British seizure (Canada base).
• Declining fur profits: Sea otter overhunted.
• Focus on Asian expansion: Amur Annexation (1858), Vladivostok (1860).

Why the US Bought

• Manifest Destiny / Pacific ambition: Seward envisioned US encircling North Pacific.
• Resources (speculative): Whales, fish, timber, minerals.
• Geopolitics: Remove Russian presence; counter British.
• Low cost: $7.2M = 1.5% of federal budget; cheap even if barren.

Contemporary Reaction

"Seward's Folly," "Seward's Icebox," "Walrussia," "Icebergia." Press & Congress mocked the purchase as a frozen wasteland. Only later discoveries changed perception:

• 1880s: Gold (Juneau, Klondike via Alaska).
• 1900s: Copper (Kennecott), salmon canneries.
• 1968: Prudhoe Bay oil (largest North American field).
• Strategic WWII/Cold War: Aleutian campaign, DEW Line, missile defense.

Statehood

Territory (1867) → District (1884) → Territory (1912) → 49th State (Jan 3, 1959).

Today, Alaska produces ~$50B/year in oil, gas, minerals, fish, tourism — a 7,000× return on purchase price. Seward's "folly" is history's bargain.