The cancelled check for the purchase of the Alaska territory. The check was issued August 1, 1868, and made payable to the Russian Minister to the United States, Edouard de Stoeckl. The receipt indicates that de Stoeckel accepted full payment on behalf of the Emperor of Russia at the U.S. Treasury Department, Washington, DC. (National Archives)

In 1867 the United States, led by Secretary of State William Seward, purchased the Alaska territory from Russia. After controlling most of the area that is now Alaska from the late 1700s until 1867, Russia sold the territory for $7.2 million dollars. This equals out to roughly two cents per acre. The U.S. gained a new territory of around 600,000 square miles. Alaska was admitted into the union as the 49th state in 1959, also making it the largest state in the United States.

Alaska’s Heritage