When times are tough, it’s time to tighten the belt. For Russia during the mid-19th century, finances were in shambles, as finances often are. So Tsar Alexander II’s idea was to sell Alaska. His fear was that the Britain would take control of Alaska anyway, by force, if he did not sell.
On this day March 30th, in 1867, Russia sells Alaska to the U.S. for $7.2 million. Russia had approached both the United States and the British in 1859. The Tsar’s hope was that it would fuel a bidding war between Britain and the U.S., but no such thing happened. Instead, the British were uninterested and because of the outbreak of the Civil War, the U.S. was in no place to be acquiring territory.
When the Union won, the Tsar ordered Eduard de Stoeckl, a Russian minister, to enter negotiations with the U.S. in March. After an all-night discussion, the deal was that the U.S. would acquire Alaska at a rate of 2 cents per acre. Alaska wouldn’t become a state until 1959. Alaska is the largest U.S. state with an area of 663,268 sq. miles! That’s huge!