On This Day, March 30, 1867, the United States reached an agreement to purchase the territory of Alaska from Imperial Russia for the sum of $7.2 million. This acquisition, which amounted to just 2 cents per acre, was derided by critics at the time as “Seward’s Folly,” mocking the then-Secretary of State William H. Seward who negotiated the deal.
For the Russian Empire, the sale provided monetary benefit while relieving the costly endeavor of maintaining control over the remote Russian colonies in North America. Tsar Alexander II’s government saw little future value in the isolated, frozen territory.
However, Seward was convinced of Alaska’s long-term strategic and economic importance to the United States. He championed adding the territory’s valuable natural resources, ports, and prime military positions bordering Canada to American sovereignty. Despite the mockery it initially faced, the Alaska Purchase was approved by just a single vote margin in the Senate.
History ultimately vindicated Seward’s foresight as the territory’s resources – from gold, oil and timber to bountiful fisheries – proved immensely profitable in the decades after the purchase. The so-called “Seward’s Folly” became an invaluable acquisition doubling the size of the nation and enabling further westward expansion.
