On this day in 1867, the US government purchased Alaska from Russia. President Andrew Johnson's Secretary of State, William H. Seward, negotiated the deal.

Seward's Folly. At the time, Alaska was thought of as a wasteland. As a result, the treaty became known as Seward's Folly. It was also laughingly called Seward's Icebox. President Johnson referred to it as a polar bear garden.

A Very Good Price. The polar bear garden came at a very good price: seven million dollars, which comes to about two cents an acre.

A History Moment. Russia's czarist government established itself in Alaska in the mid-eighteenth century. It first tried to sell the land to the US during President James Buchanan's administration. Negotiations were interrupted by the Civil War.

Good Deal Pays Off. Despite a slow start in US settlement, the discovery of gold in 1898 brought people to the territory. Alaska, which is rich in natural resources, has contributed to American prosperity ever since.