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Secretary of State William Seward was a genius. I don’t know if that’s strictly true, but in retrospect, his push for the purchase of Alaska from Russia was a masterstroke for the United States. People scoffed at the idea of yet another huge land purchase, despite its ridiculously cheap price of $.02 per acre. “Seward’s Folly” they called it. Some reasoned that the vast territory acquired in the preceding 60 years had yet to be properly populated.
The massive Louisiana Territory (1804), the Annexation of Texas (1845), the Oregon Territory (1846), and the lands from the Mexican Cession (1848) had created the landmass that would ultimately comprise the “lower 48” states. The Alaska territory was a frozen wasteland…and it wasn’t even connected.
But Alaska was so cheap! The Russians, who owned the territory, wanted to get out of the “Russian America” business, primarily because right next door was the rival British Columbia and, should a war break out, the land would be easily lost. And Britain clearly didn’t want to pay for Alaska when the Russians had asked them about it. So rather than risk losing it for nothing, why not sell it for something?
For the American government, their justification also had to do with the British. The Russians had been a Union ally during the Civil War, while the British had clearly not been. So the purchase would help the Russians while simultaneously giving the British an American presence on two sides of British Columbia.
And so, in March of 1867, the negotiations began. They concluded when the treaty was signed at 4am on March 30, 1867. The final price was $7,200,000…a tidy sum in those days of Reconstruction. The territory would be officially passed to the U.S. in October. And still the criticism would be heard about “Seward’s Icebox”, but over time, one could say that it was an investment well-made.
Within 25 years, gold had been discovered and the Klondike Gold Rush was on. During World War II (when Russia was an ally and a Lend-Lease partner), supplies were flown in to Alaska from the States, and then flown from there by Russian pilots to aid in their war against Germany. And after the War (when Russia was no longer an ally), Alaska stood as a barrier of defense to Russian aggression.
And of course, there was that little place called Prudhoe Bay where, in 1968 (just 100 years after The Alaska Purchase), a massive oil reserve was discovered.
William Seward was chided for suggesting the U.S. purchase the no-man’s land of snow and ice from Russia. And he was berated for actually carrying through with it. But if those same folks were alive today, their silence would be deafening.
Today's History Lesson 