Why was Alaska purchased from Russia in 1867?

Russia was in a difficult financial position. They feared that losing the Alaskan territory without having any compensation in some future conflict. They especially feared to loose to their enemy the British who could have easily captured the region because it was hard-to-defend. Therefore the Emperor Alexander II of Russia decided instead to sell the territory to the US. He instructed the Russian minister to the United States to enter into the negotiations with Seward. This took place in the beginning of March 1867. The negotiations finally concluded after an all-night session. The signing of the treaty at 4 o'clock in the morning of March 30 concluded with the purchase price set at $7,200,000. This is around 1.9¢ per acre. American public opinion was generally positive. However, there were some newspaper writers and editors that had negative feelings about the purchase of land.

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Alaska Purchase 1867

1867 Purchase

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RE:

Why was Alaska purchased from Russia in 1867?

Because it was there.... seriously. The purchase of Alaska, for $7.2 million, was derided as Seward's Folly, after then Secretary of State William Seward who negotiated the purchase.

There is some discussion that the purchase was made to help Russia. Some ideas that the purchase was made to eliminate and prevent European powers from holding land in North America. But, in 1867, before the discovery of gold and oil in Alaska and long before an appreciation of the state's natural beauty developed, there was little reason to purchase 586,000 square miles of frozen land northwest of most of Canada. Most people now applaud the foresight of buying Alaska, but at the time it was widely condemned.

well its more land and would they want to buy it cheap or do they want to have a three way war America-Canada-Russia im sure they would wanted to just buy it cheap and Russia didn't really need it i mean it's already the biggest country in the world and America they could use it because the were so close it would and does benefit America and it benefits Canada a bit like all the oil and gold they could use that and Russia could but they didn't really know about the gold and oil but Russia sort of wants it back America owns it so I guess the cant

It was known at the time as "Seward's Folly" and it was part of that national insanity called "Manifest Destiny"

why not?

it was land - it was cheap...