Primary sourceDocument1 August 1868

Check for the Purchase of Alaska

U.S. Department of the Treasury · 1 August 1868

The $7.2 million Treasury check that paid Russia for Alaska in 1868, finalizing the chief foreign-policy achievement of Johnson's presidency.

This check, issued during Johnson's presidency, completed the Alaska Purchase overseen by his administration.

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Scanned Treasury Warrant check No. 9759 dated Washington, August 1, 1868, payable to Richard Harris? A sepia document with an ornate engraved border, a figure of Liberty on the left, a blue 'PAID AUG 1868' stamp, and handwritten entries in the payee and amount lines. — Treasury check for $7.2 million paying for the purchase of Alaska, August 1, 1868. U.S. National Archives.

About this source

What it is

This is a cancelled Treasury warrant check for $7.2 million, issued August 1, 1868, made payable to Edouard de Stoeckl, the Russian minister who negotiated the sale of Alaska. It is held by the U.S. National Archives, along with the Russian exchange copy of the Treaty of Cession signed March 30, 1867.

Why it matters

Secretary of State William H. Seward negotiated this purchase for the United States, acquiring nearly 600,000 square miles of territory for less than two cents an acre. It happened under President Andrew Johnson's administration, making it the leading foreign-policy achievement of his presidency, though critics mocked it as "Seward's Folly" until gold was later discovered in the region.

Look closer

What does the formal, engraved design of the check tell you about how governments record large transactions?
Why might contemporaries have doubted the value of this purchase at the time?
Whose names appear on the check, and what role did each person play in the deal?

This document is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Andrew Johnson on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.