One hundred and fifty - five long time ago , on March 30 , 1867 , Russia handed the Brobdingnagian territory of Alaska over to the United States for the bargain damage of $ 7.2 million , or about 2 cents per acre .
Uncle Sam understandably get the better final stage of that deal — 50 years after the sales agreement , an Alaskangold rushgenerated more than $ 1 billion in young wealth for the U. S. Also lucrative were the state ’s abundance of lumber , salmon and petroleum . Plus , Alaska became a real strategical plus for the U.S. military once the Cold War arrived .
So why did the Russians part with such a plentiful region ? And why did n’t the country sell it to Canada , which — unlike the contiguous U.S. — in reality borders Alaska ?
To respond these motion , we have to count backward to the 19th century when a proto - Cold War emerged . Historians call it " The Great Game . " And like a sure HBO series , more than a few potty were involve .
Russia Claims Alaska
From 1829 to 1907 , the empires of Russia and Great Britain shared a mutual hostility . Each wanted to expand its influence in Central Asia , as well as across the Pacific Ocean . Thus , a competition was born . The bad blood sparked or intensified several military conflict , most notably the Crimean War ( 1853 - 1856 ) , which pit Russia against the ally forces of Britain , France , Sardinia and theOttoman Empire . in the end , Russia was shoot down . By some estimates , the czarist conglomerate suffered800,000 casualties or more .
Although this war was qualify to Eurasia , it had major ramifications across the Pacific . Among other things , it shout out into inquiry the future of that magical land , Alaska .
To this close , troupe managing director Alexander Baranov had his man venture all the way down to northerly California , where they put up an outpost bid Fort Ross on Feb. 2 , 1812 . The RAC ’s grand imagination was for this establishment to answer as an agricultural hub , one whose crops would sustain its own colonist and those up in Alaska . With their food for thought supply guaranteed , the colonists in both locations would have an easy sentence harvest the Pacific ’s most profitable commodity : sea otter skin . Several time more valuable than the coveted opera hat and fur seal pelts , these were the lifeblood of the Russian - American saving .
Unfortunately , Fort Ross ' husbandry output was grosslyinadequate . And to make matters worse , the Russian fur trappers overhunted those sea otter so badly that the animalsnearly vanishedfrom the North Pacific . The Russians therefore gave up on Fort Ross , which was sold to an Americanfrontiersmanin 1844 .
The Crimean War and Its Role
Then along came the Crimean War , in which Alaska imperil to become a liability . Had the British adjudicate to occupy this territory , Russia ’s overextended armed services would have struggled to protect it . No such onslaught ever come , as the Brits chose tostay outof Alaska during the war . Still , many in the tsar ’s administration now question the wisdom of hang to a remote , sparsely populated colony whose main source of revenue was vanish .
To make matters even bad , whalingships from Britain and the U.S. ofteninfringedon RAC - command waters , further complicating the entire office .
In the late 1850s , Russia started hold the idea of a sale . Under dissimilar circumstances , theProvince of Canadamight have looked like an ideal purchaser , thanks to the 1,538 - mile ( 2,475 - kilometer ) border it shared with Alaska . But Canada was not yet ego - governing and still lodge in under the United Kingdom ’s firm control . As such , handing Alaska off to the Canucks would have given Britain an extra Bromus secalinus piece in the Great Game .
But luckily for Russia , a good nominee presented itself . During the Crimean War , this Slavic imperium found a surprising friend . American newspaper were irresistibly supportive of the Russian lawsuit . On top of this moral backing , the states also gave the tzar ’s troops weapon system and othersupplies , even though the U.S. administration was officially neutral .
British Imperialism
Both major power saw British imperialism as a threat . recognize this , Russia allowed its extraneous rector to the U.S. , Baron Edouard de Stoeckl , to draw near the republic ’s leaders with an offer to sell Alaska in 1854 . The deal fall through , and the topic was n’t seriously discussed again until after the American Civil War .
The secretaire of state under PresidentsAbraham Lincolnand Andrew Johnson was one William Seward , a gifted diplomat who ’d been preaching Alaska ’s meritoriousness for years . In 1867 , he and Stoeckl struck a batch that would see the U.S. take self-command of the soil in exchange for $ 7.2 million , which is deserving over $ 138 million today . On April 9 of that twelvemonth , the Senateratifiedthe transaction ( although Congress did n’t appropriate the funds until 1868 ) .
On Oct. 18 , 1867 , Alaska officially became an American territorial dominion . Since 1911 , residents of the Last Frontier have been celebrating that issue ’s anniversary as a major holiday . Its name ? Alaska Day .
