The Big Deal for Alaska for the US

William Seward, then U.S. Secretary of State, led negotiations for the land purchase and secured a treaty with Russian Tsar Alexander II. After considerable opposition, the U.S. Congress approved Seward's formal offer of $7.2 million, and on October 18, 1867, the American flag was raised in Sitka, the then capital of Alaska. Initially, the Alaska Purchase was dismissed as "Seward's Folly" by critics, who believed the territory was a desolate wasteland of little economic value. Adjusted for inflation, the $7.2 million paid by the U.S. would be equivalent to just over $150 million today, a remarkably low price for what is now the largest state in the U.S. The Alaska purchase added more than 1.5 million square kilometers to the country, or nearly 151 million hectares of land. But of course, Alaska is much more than just land. It's also a vast repository of natural resources. Less than two decades after Washington purchased Alaska, a gold rush erupted. And in the mid-20th century, oil companies discovered huge deposits in the north of the state, which have been intensively exploited ever since. Alaska's oil wealth is such that the government gives state residents a bonus that can reach thousands of dollars each year, simply for living there. Seward's initiative proved rewarding, and in 1959, Alaska officially became the 49th U.S. state. Today, Alaska is a powerful economy with nearly 750,000 inhabitants and a GDP of $70 billion annually. In other words, each year it produces more than 400 times what Russia obtained in total when it sold the territory in the 19th century.