Alaska Purchase
1867 CE.
Shown on the map at 38.895°, -77.037°.
The Alaska Purchase occurred in 1867 and resulted in the transfer of Russian America to the United States for a sum of $7.2 million (equivalent to $132 million in 2024). On April 9 of that year, the United States Senate ratified a bilateral treaty that had been signed on March 30, and American sovereignty became legally effective across the territory on October 18. During the first half of the 19th century, the Russian Empire had established a colonial presence in parts of North America, but few Russians ever settled in Alaska. Alexander II of Russia, having faced a catastrophic defeat in the Crimean War, began exploring the possibility of selling the state's Alaskan possessions, which, in any future war, would be difficult to defend from the United Kingdom. To this end, William H. Seward, the U.S. secretary of state at the time, entered into negotiations with Russian diplomat Eduard de Stoeckl towards the United States' acquisition of Alaska after the American Civil War. Seward and Steckel agreed to a treaty for the sale on March 30, 1867. At an original cost of $0.02 per acre ($0.37 per acre in 2024), the United States had grown by 586,412 sq mi (1,518,800 km2).
Text from the Wikipedia article Alaska Purchase, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.