U.S. Acquires Alaska from Russia for $7.2 Million on March 30, 1867

Oct 18, 2024, 09:35 AM

On this day in 1867, the United States officially acquired Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million. The purchase was facilitated by U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward and the Russian Minister. The Senate approved the treaty on March 30, 1867, and the transfer significantly impacted the geopolitical balance of power. The territory, spanning 586,412 square miles and inhabited by Indigenous peoples for thousands of years, was bought at a cost equivalent to less than two cents per acre. His Majesty the Emperor of all the Russias agreed to cede the territory.