On March 30, 1867, Secretary of State William H. Seward agreed to purchase Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million. At the time, critics thought Seward was crazy and called the deal "Seward's folly." Seward was laughed at for his willingness to spend so much on Seward's icebox and Andrew Johnson's polar bear garden.
Explanation:
The Treaty with Russia was negotiated and signed by Secretary of State William Seward and Russian Minister to the United States Edouard de Stoeckl. Critics of the deal to purchase Alaska called it "Seward's Folly" or "Seward's Icebox." Opposition to the purchase of Alaska subsided with the Klondike Gold Strike in 1896.
