The Alaska Purchase: How the U.S. Acquired "Seward's Icebox"

The United States purchased Alaska from the Russian Empire in 1867 for $7.2 million (~$140M today), orchestrated by Secretary of State William H. Seward and Russian Minister Eduard de Stoeckl.

Why Russia Sold

• Financial strain: Crimean War (1853–56) debts.
• Defensibility: Impossible to defend against Britain (naval supremacy) from Siberia.
• Fur depletion: Sea otter populations collapsed; primary revenue gone.
• Prefer US over UK: Saw US as less threatening rival; wanted to weaken British North America (Canada).

Why the US Bought

• Manifest Destiny: Pacific expansion, "continentalism."
• Resources: Whales, fish, timber, minerals (gold unknown yet).
• Strategic: Naval bases, future canal (Panama not built), Asian trade.
• Seward's vision: "Icebox" mockery ignored; he saw long-term value.

The Deal

• Treaty signed: March 30, 1867 (Washington).
• Senate ratified: April 9, 1867 (37–2).
• Tsar Alexander II ratified: May 14, 1867.
• Transfer ceremony: October 18, 1867, Sitka (Castle Hill). Russian flag down, US flag up.

Outcome

Gold rushes (1880s–90s), salmon, timber, oil (Prudhoe Bay 1968), strategic WWII/Cold War value (air bases, DEW Line), statehood (1959). ROI: astronomical. "Seward's Folly" → Seward's foresight.