Russia and the United States Sign the Alaska Purchase Treaty
30 March 1867
In Washington on 30 March 1867, Secretary of State William Seward and Russian minister Eduard de Stoeckl signed a treaty transferring Russia’s North American possessions to the United States for $7.2 million. Seward negotiated for a government seeking expansion; de Stoeckl represented an emperor whose distant colony had become difficult to support. [3] [2] [1]
St. Petersburg lacked the resources to maintain a substantial military presence in Alaska, and defeat in the Crimean War had reduced its interest in the colony. A sale to the United States would also check the Pacific ambitions of Britain, Russia’s rival. [1]
The treaty transferred territory, public buildings, and authority over the inhabitants. Article III allowed residents to return to Russia or remain with the prospect of American citizenship, but explicitly excluded the Indigenous people it classified as tribes from that promise. They would instead be subject to American laws and regulations. [2]
Related Diplomats
Sources
- Purchase of Alaska, 1867 — U.S. Office of the Historian
Russian strategic position; American expansion
- Treaty of Cession and purchase check — National Archives
Treaty Articles I–III; purchase price
Historical introduction and treaty transcript, preamble and Article VI
- Alaska Treaty research guide — Library of Congress
Treaty date; negotiators; purchase price
- Signing of the Alaska Treaty, by Emanuel Leutze — Seward House Museum
Painting identification and represented negotiators
Related Reading
Cite This Article
Russia and the United States Sign the Alaska Purchase Treaty. Chanceries Diplopedia. Record 70d447c248bf755eadb3. https://chanceries.org/research/history/russia-history-alaska-1867-a6dd6b4ccf/