Senate Ratifies Alaska Purchase: Seward's Folly Vindicated
Secretary of State William Seward negotiated the purchase of Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million on March 30, 1867, and the Senate ratified the treaty on April 9 by a vote of 37-2. The purchase price worked out to about two cents per acre for 586,412 square miles of territory, roughly twice the size of Texas. Critics called it "Seward's Folly" and "Seward's Icebox." Russia was eager to sell because they feared Britain would seize Alaska in any future conflict and they needed cash after the Crimean War. The investment paid off spectacularly: the Klondike Gold Rush of 1896, massive oil reserves discovered at Prudhoe Bay in 1968, and its strategic military position during the Cold War validated the purchase many times over.
April 9, 1867
159 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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