The U.S. acquisition of Alaska from Russia in 1867 added 586,412 sq mi of territory and later proved vital for resources and strategic position.
Key Facts
- Purchase Price
- $7.2 million
- Price per Acre
- $0.02 USD/acre
- Area Acquired
- 586,412 sq mi
- Treaty Signed
- March 30, 1867
- Senate Ratification
- May 15, 1867
- U.S. Sovereignty Effective
- October 18, 1867
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Following Russia's defeat in the Crimean War, Tsar Alexander II sought to divest Alaska, recognizing that the remote territory would be difficult to defend against Britain in any future conflict. U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward, eager to expand American influence in the Pacific, entered negotiations with Russian diplomat Eduard de Stoeckl after the end of the American Civil War.
On March 30, 1867, Seward and Stoeckl signed a treaty transferring Alaska from the Russian Empire to the United States for $7.2 million. The U.S. Senate ratified the treaty on May 15, 1867, and American sovereignty became legally effective across the territory on October 18, 1867, nearly doubling the country's territorial extent.
Nearly all Russian settlers departed Alaska following the transfer. The purchase was mocked by critics as 'Seward's Folly,' but the territory remained strategically and economically significant. The Klondike Gold Rush beginning in 1896 spurred population growth, and Alaska progressed through administrative reorganizations before achieving U.S. statehood in 1959.
Political Outcome
Alaska transferred from Russian to American sovereignty for $7.2 million; U.S. territory expanded by 586,412 sq mi.
Alaska held as Russian imperial territory in North America
Alaska organized as U.S. territory, eventually becoming the 49th state in 1959