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Book/Printed Material Draft for Payment for the Purchase of Alaska.

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Title

  • Draft for Payment for the Purchase of Alaska.

Summary

  • In 1866 the Russian government offered to sell the territory of Alaska to the United States. Secretary of State William H. Seward, enthusiastic about the prospect of American expansion, negotiated the deal for the U.S. government. Eduard de Stoeckl, Russian minister to the United States, negotiated for the Russians. On March 30, 1867, the two parties agreed that the United States would pay Russia $7.2 million for the territory. For less than two cents an acre, the United States acquired nearly 600,000 square miles (1.55 million square kilometers) of new territory. At the time, critics of the purchase called it "Seward's Folly" or "Seward's Icebox." Payment for Alaska, which by law required an appropriation of funds by the U.S. Congress, was delayed for a time by internal American political opposition and by the political wrangling that surrounded the impeachment proceedings against President Andrew Johnson. The U.S. government finally issued a treasury warrant for the Alaska purchase on August 1, 1868, a full 16 months after the treaty had been signed by Seward and de Stoeckl. This note certifies receipt of $7.2 million by the Russian minister in fulfillment of the Alaska purchase, which he subsequently received in gold coin from the Riggs Bank in Washington, D.C.

Names

  • Department of the Treasury. Office of the Register of the Treasury. Notes, Coupon, Currency, and Files Division Creator.
  • Russia Associated Name.
  • United States Associated Name.

Created / Published

  • [place of publication not identified] : [publisher not identified], 1868-08-01.

Headings

  • -  Russian Federation
  • -  United States of America--Alaska
  • -  United States of America--District of Columbia--Washington
  • -  1868-08-01
  • -  Alaska -- Annexation to the United States
  • -  Alexander II, Emperor of Russia, 1818-1881
  • -  Foreign relations
  • -  International law
  • -  Johnson, Andrew, 1808-1875
  • -  Treaties

Notes

  • -  Title devised, in English, by Library staff.
  • -  Original resource at: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
  • -  Content in English.
  • -  Description based on data extracted from World Digital Library, which may be extracted from partner institutions.

Medium

  • 1 online resource.

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2021671100

Online Format

  • compressed data
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

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Credit Line: [Original Source citation], World Digital Library

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Department Of The Treasury. Office Of The Register Of The Treasury. Notes, Coupon, Currency, And Files Division Creator, Russia Associated Name, and United States Associated Name. Draft for Payment for the Purchase of Alaska. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified, -08-01, 1868] Image. https://www.loc.gov/item/2021671100/.

APA citation style:

Department Of The Treasury. Office Of The Register Of The Treasury. Notes, C., Russia Associated Name & United States Associated Name. (1868) Draft for Payment for the Purchase of Alaska. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified, -08-01] [Image] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2021671100/.

MLA citation style:

Department Of The Treasury. Office Of The Register Of The Treasury. Notes, Coupon, Currency, And Files Division Creator, Russia Associated Name, and United States Associated Name. Draft for Payment for the Purchase of Alaska. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified, -08-01, 1868] Image. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2021671100/>.