12/15/2015
Treaty with Russia for the Purchase of Alaska: Primary Documents of American History (Virtual Programs & Services, Library of Congress)
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Primary Documents in American History
Treaty with Russia for the Purchase of Alaska
On March 30, 1867, the United States reached an agreement to purchase
Alaska from Russia for a price of $7.2 million. The Treaty with Russia was
negotiated and signed by Secretary of State William Seward and Russian
Minister to the United States Edouard de Stoeckl. Critics of the deal to
purchase Alaska called it "Seward’s Folly” or “Seward’s Icebox."
Opposition to the purchase of Alaska subsided with the Klondike Gold
Strike in 1896.
Library of Congress Web Site | External Web Sites | Selected Bibliography
Digital Collections
An American Time Capsule: Three Centuries of Broadsides and Other
Printed Ephemera
The Printed Ephemera collection comprises 28,000 primary­source
items dating from the seventeenth century to the present and
encompasses key events and eras in American history.
The Alaska purchase. Letter of Hon. Joseph S. Wilson,
commissioner of the General land office. [Washington, D. C.
May 12, 1868].
A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation
This collection contains congressional publications from 1774 to
1875, including debates, bills, laws, and journals.
Portrait of Secretary of State William
H. Seward, officer of the United
States Government.
Brady National Photographic Art
Gallery (Washington, D.C.),
photographer.
[Between 1860 and 1865].
Prints and Photographs Division.
Reproduction Number: LC­DIG­cwpb­04948
The Senate ratified the Treaty with Russia on April 9, 1867, by a
vote of 37 to 2.
The House approved the appropriation of money needed to
purchase Alaska on July 14, 1868, by a vote of 113 to 48.
An Act making an appropriation of money to carry into effect the treaty with Russia of March
thirtieth, eighteen hundred and sixty­seven, July 27, 1868. (15 Stat. 198)
Russia. Treaty concerning the Cession of the Russian Possessions in North America by his
Majesty the Emperor of all the Russias to the United States of America; Concluded March 30, 1867;
Ratified by the United States, May 28, 1867; Exchanged June 20, 1867; Proclaimed by the United
States, June 20, 1867. (15 Stat. 539)
Search in the 40th Congress using the word "Alaska" to find additional Congressional documents on
this topic.
America's Library
Jump Back in Time: Purchase of Alaska, March 30, 1867.
Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers
The Chronicling America site allows you to search and view millions of historic American newspaper
pages from 1836­1922. Search this collection to find newspaper articles about the Treaty with Russia
https://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/Alaska.html
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12/15/2015
Treaty with Russia for the Purchase of Alaska: Primary Documents of American History (Virtual Programs & Services, Library of Congress)
A selection of articles on the Treaty with Russia includes:
"The Russian Treaty," New­York Tribune. (New York [N.Y.]), April 01, 1867.
"The Russian Treaty," The Charleston Daily News. (Charleston, S.C.), April 12, 1867.
"The Russian Treaty...Price to be Paid only $7,200,000," The Sun. (New York [N.Y.]), April 12,
1867.
In addition, the Newspaper and Current Periodical Reading Room has created a series of topics guides
to the newspapers included in Chronicling America, including a guide on the U.S. purchase of Alaska.
Global Gateways
Meeting of Frontiers
A bilingual, multimedia English­Russian digital library that tells the story of the American
exploration and settlement of the West, the parallel exploration and settlement of Siberia
and the Russian Far East, and the meeting of the Russian­American frontier in Alaska
and the Pacific Northwest. Meeting of Frontiers includes a section on the purchase of
Alaska that contains the official Russian and American copies of the treaty.
The Teachers Page
Lesson Plan ­ The Alaska Purchase: Debating the Sale from Russian and U.S. Perspectives
The 1867 Treaty of Cession, in which the United States purchased Alaska from the
Russian empire, marked an unusually peaceful transition. The purchase of Alaska was
done under amicable circumstances, and both Russia and the U.S. felt they gained from
the Treaty. In this lesson, students use primary sources from Russia and the U.S. to
examine the respective Russian and American rationales for agreeing to the sale.
Today in History
March 30, 1867
Secretary of State William H. Seward agreed to purchase Alaska from Russia for $7.2
million on March 30, 1867.
External Web Sites
Czar's Ratification of the Alaska Purchase Treaty, 6/20/1867, National Archives and Records
Administration
Our Documents, Check for the Purchase of Alaska, National Archives and Records Administration
Purchase of Alaska, Department of State
Teaching With Documents: Migration North to Alaska, National Archives and Records Administration
Selected Bibliography
Farrar, Victor John. The Annexation of Russian America to the United States. New York: Russell &
Russell, 1966. [Catalog Record]
Hinckley, Ted C. The Americanization of Alaska, 1867­1897. Palo Alto, Calif.: Pacific Books, 1972.
[Catalog Record]
Jensen, Ronald J. The Alaska Purchase and Russian­American Relations. Seattle: University of
Washington Press, 1975. [Catalog Record]
Kushner, Howard I. Conflict on the Northwest Coast: American­Russian Rivalry in the Pacific
Northwest, 1790­1867. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1975. [Catalog Record]
Younger Readers
Clinton, Susan. The Story of Seward's Folly. Chicago: Childrens Press, 1987. [Catalog Record]
Cohen, Daniel. The Alaska Purchase. Brookfield, Conn.: Millbrook Press, 1996. [Catalog Record]
https://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/Alaska.html
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Treaty with Russia for the Purchase of Alaska: Primary Documents of American History (Virtual Programs & Services, Library of Congress)
Fremon, David K. The Alaska Purchase in American History. Berkeley Heights, N.J.: Enslow
Publishers, 1999. [Catalog Record]
Kent, Zachary. William Seward: The Mastermind of the Alaska Purchase. Berkeley Heights, N.J.:
Enslow Publishers, 2001. [Catalog Record]
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