In 1867, the United States purchased the land known as Alaska. During this time, Russia owned Alaska. Russia was also at odds with the United Kingdom. With the need for money in order to fund a possible war with such a powerhouse country as the United Kingdom and for fear that the United Kingdom would merely take the land, Russia felt obligated to sell the land to the United States.
The United States on the other hand, William H. Seward decided to get into negotiations with Russia in order to cause others in Congress to be thinking about something else other than Reconstruction. In 1867, the president at the time helped purchase this land for about 7 million dollars. This was about only two cents per acre.
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