Today in History: America took possession of Alaska from Russia
The Alaskan purchase comprised approximately 1 518 800,108km², about twice the area known as Texas.
On this day in 1867, the US formally took possession of Alaska after purchasing the territory from Russia for $7,2 million, or less than two cents an acre.
The deal was championed by William Henry Seward, the enthusiastically expansionist Secretary of State under President Andrew Johnson.
Russia wanted to sell its Alaskan territory, which was remote, sparsely populated and difficult to defend, to the US, rather than risk losing it in battle with a rival such as Great Britain. Negotiations between Seward (1801–1872) and the Russian minister to the US, Eduard de Stoeckl, began in March 1867.
However, the American public believed the land to be barren and worthless and dubbed the purchase “Seward’s Folly” and “Andrew Johnson’s Polar Bear Garden”, among other derogatory names. Some animosity toward the project may have been a by-product of President Johnson’s own unpopularity. As the 17th US president, Johnson battled with Radical Republicans in Congress over Reconstruction policies following the Civil War. He was impeached in 1868 and later acquitted by a single vote.
Nevertheless, Congress eventually ratified the Alaska deal. Public opinion about the purchase turned more favourable when gold was discovered in a tributary of Alaska’s Klondike River in 1896, sparking a gold rush. Alaska became the 49th state on 3 January 1959, and is now recognised for its vast natural resources.
It is the largest state in area, about one-fifth the size of the lower 48 states combined, though it remains sparsely populated. The name ‘Alaska’ is derived from the Aleut word ‘alyeska’, which means ‘great land’.
Alaska has two official state holidays to commemorate its origins: Seward’s Day, observed on the last Monday in March, celebrates the 30 March 1867 signing of the land treaty between the US and Russia, and Alaska Day, observed on 18 October, which marks the anniversary of the formal land transfer.
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