Through the Arctic Looking Glass and What the

One of the greatest strategic accomplishments of U.S. domestic and foreign policy occurred in 1867 when, for a mere $7.2 million (roughly $120 million in today’s dollars), the United States purchased the Territory of Alaska from Russia. This move both signifi cantly increased the country’s size, adding a territory nearly twice the size of Texas, and substantially increased America’s wealth as gold and North Slope oil were later discovered in the new territory. The Alaska Purchase, as it was known, also allowed the United States to become an Arctic coastal state with the added benefi t of having a mere 53 miles separating the borders of the United States and Russia in the Bering Strait.