With this check, the United States completed the purchase of almost 600,000 square miles of land that would become our 49th state – Alaska.
In 1866 the Russian government had offered to sell the territory to the United States. Secretary of State William H. Seward, enthusiastic about the prospects of American Expansion, negotiated the deal for the Americans. Edouard de Stoeckl, Russian minister to the United States, negotiated for the Russians.
On March 30, 1867, the two parties agreed that the United States would pay Russia $7.2 million — less than 2 cents an acre. This Treasury Warrant, issued on August 1, 1868 at the Sub-Treasury Building at 26 Wall Street, New York, New York, transferred the payment to the Russian Minister.
Opponents of the Alaska Purchase called it “Seward’s Folly” or “Seward’s Icebox” until 1896, when the great Klondike Gold Strike convinced even the harshest critics that Alaska was a valuable addition to American territory.
