The United States formally takes possession of Alaska from Russia in a ceremony known as the Alaska Purchase. The $7.2 million purchase, ended Russia’s presence in North America and ensured U.S. access to the Pacific northern rim.
Skeptics had dubbed the purchase of Alaska “Seward’s Folly,” but the former Secretary of State was vindicated when a major gold deposit was discovered in the Yukon in 1896, and Alaska became the gateway to the Klondike gold fields. The strategic importance of Alaska was finally recognized in World War II. Alaska became a state on January 3, 1959. More
