The Russian Empire sold Alaska to the United States in 1867, adding a major chapter to the nation celebrated by America250.
The Alaska Purchase agreement was signed on March 30, 1867, and the United States paid Russia $7.2 million. The territory transferred formally on October 18, 1867, a date now observed in Alaska as Alaska Day.
Secretary of State William H. Seward negotiated the purchase for the United States, while Eduard de Stoeckl represented Russia. Critics initially mocked the deal as Seward's Folly, but the purchase later proved strategically and economically important after discoveries of gold, oil, and other resources.
Alaska became a U.S. territory in 1912 and entered the Union as the 49th state in 1959. The purchase is distinct from the Louisiana Purchase, which the United States bought from France in 1803.