Russia sold Alaska to the United States in 1867, a territorial milestone in America250 history.
The Alaska Purchase was agreed in a treaty signed on March 30, 1867, and formally transferred on October 18 of that year. The United States paid Russia $7.2 million, or about two cents per acre.
Secretary of State William H. Seward negotiated the deal during President Andrew Johnson’s administration. The enormous territory was initially mocked by some critics as “Seward’s Folly,” but its natural resources and strategic position later proved significant.
The purchase transferred Russian colonial possessions in North America, but it did not erase the long history of Alaska Native peoples. Alaska remained a U.S. territory for decades before becoming the 49th state on January 3, 1959.