What was the original purchase price of Alaska in the 1867 Alaska Purchase?

The United States paid $7.2 million for Alaska in the 1867 Alaska Purchase.

Secretary of State William H. Seward negotiated the treaty with Russian diplomat Eduard de Stoeckl. The agreement was signed in Washington, D.C., on March 30, 1867, and the Senate ratified it on May 15. The purchase transferred about 586,412 square miles of Russian territory to the United States.

The formal transfer took place in Sitka on October 18, 1867. Russian forces lowered their flag, and American forces raised the U.S. flag. That date is now observed in Alaska as Alaska Day. The treaty price worked out to roughly two cents per acre, although the land was initially distant, sparsely settled, and difficult for the United States to administer.

Some Americans mocked the deal as “Seward’s Folly” or “Seward’s Icebox.” Later discoveries of gold, oil, and other resources changed perceptions of Alaska’s value. Alaska eventually became the 49th U.S. state in 1959, nearly a century after the purchase.