Russia sold Alaska

Why Russia sold Alaska to the United States

Russia sold Alaska to the United States for one simple reason. Russia sold Alaska because Russia needed cash and the United States had cash. Although Canada would seem to be the logical choice, for Russia, selling Alaska to Canada wasn’t an option.

We had one clear sky day while in the Portage Valley. This picture was taken at the entrance to our campground.
We had one clear sky day while in the Portage Valley. This picture was taken at the entrance to our campground.

Russia didn’t want to sell Alaska to Canada. Canada was part of the British Empire and the British opposed Russia in the Crimean War (Russia lost). Losing the Crimean War was the reason that Russia needed cash. Russia sold Alaska because war is very expensive, especially if you lose.

When we were in the Portage Valley clouds and rain was abundant. This cloud covered mountain has snow fields. Behind me are three glaciers all starting from the Sargent Icefield.
When we were in the Portage Valley, clouds and rain were abundant. This cloud-covered mountain has snow fields.

Russia claimed Alaska

Russia claimed Alaska as a territory in 1799 and founded a trading company named the Russian-American (trading) Company. The Russian-American Company exploited the natives (including slavery) and unwittingly introduced diseases to the natives that in some cases killed up to 80% of the population. Small Pox in 1835 was the most deadly epidemic. Small Pox, dysentery, influenza, typhoid, whooping cough, and measles killed more than 60 thousand natives. When Russia sold Alaska the native population was almost gone.

Picture of a reflection Tangle Pond along the Portage Creek.
Reflection of the mountains in Tangle Pond. Tangle Pond is along Portage Creek in the Portage Valley.

No records of the population of Alaska exist before or during the Russian period. During the Russian period, all census data was conducted by the Russian Orthodox Church and they only counted converts to the faith. Alaska population estimates made by the Russian-American Company in 1860 were a total population of about eleven thousand including 823 Russians.

Tami and one of the locals toys. Float planes were common along the shoreline of Finger Lake.
Tami and one of the locals’ toys. Float planes were common along the shoreline of Finger Lake.

In Alaska, Russia’s primary focus was easy and highly profitable trading in the fur market. The fur trade died along with the native population. Russia traded with and employed native Alaskans to get furs to trade on the European markets. Russia noted the decrease in available furs to buy and thought that since they had a similar fur opportunity in Siberia, Russia sold Alaska.

A floatplane taking off from Finger Lake.
A floatplane taking off from Finger Lake.

When Russia sold Alaska

Russia sold Alaska to the United States also because governing Alaska was a burden and because the fur trade was unprofitable. Alaska wasn’t even connected to Moscow by land and was only accessible by boat. Governing Alaska was a financial burden. So Russia sold Alaska to the United States because we were a previous “partner” and they wanted out of the unprofitable partnership. Russia thought of the trading company as a partnership but really the United States government wasn’t partnered with Russia; rather the partnership was between some rich Americans and the Russian monarchy.

This moose was chillin at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. He was rescued as a baby when his mom was killed.
This moose was chillin’ at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. He was rescued as a baby when his mom was killed. Overall our wild moose count is very low. My daughter says that moose are all wild, including the ones like this one at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. She also says that moose are like Unicorns often talked about and magical, but seldom seen.

Russia sold Alaska to the United States for cash. The purchase was for the entire land mass of Alaska, including all the Aleutian Islands, all the way to and including Attu, and surrounding territorial waters. The purchase price was 7.2 million dollars. The price was set at 2 cents per acre, although the boundaries were set without actually knowing how big (in terms of acres) Alaska really was.

Snowfields and glaciers south of Portage Valley.
Snowfields and glaciers south of Portage Valley.

Russia sold Alaska also because they realized how difficult Alaska would be to defend if Canada and British Empire decided to take it away by force. If that happened, they would lose Alaska without a fight (or payment) because Russia couldn’t defend against a land war from Canada using only a few Navy ships. In the early 1800s, taking land by force was still common.

The mountains around the Portage Valley are impressive.
The mountains around the Portage Valley are impressive.

When Russia sold Alaska, Alaska was considered to be a northern wasteland, by both the Americans and Russians. The wasteland viewpoint was a primary driver in terms of price. Russia had a few settlements in Alaska for more than one hundred years. The settlements were few, only on the coastline, and had plenty of Alaska unoccupied between them.

This collection of snow fields are a reminder that above us in the Portage Valley, in every direction there is a large ice field and glaciers.
This collection of snow fields is a reminder that above us in the Portage Valley, in every direction there is a large ice field and glaciers.

After Russia sold Alaska, politicians expressed how the purchase was folly and that the purchase price was way too high. The politicians all changed their feelings in 1896 during the Klondike gold rush. Perhaps the price wasn’t too high after all.

Our travel to Palmer

Our first stop south of Denali State Park was Palmer. Palmer was founded by George W. Palmer in the 1890s almost thirty years after the United States purchased Alaska. Palmer’s intention was to take over where the Russians left off as a trader along the Matanuska River.

The snow in this picture is part of the Byron Glacier connected to the Sargent Icefield.
The snow in this picture is part of the Byron Glacier connected to the Sargent Icefield.

Except for the presence of the United States Army, before and after Russia sold Alaska to the United States, Alaska was mostly a lawless, ungoverned territory. For the next thirty years after Russia sold Alaska to the United States, the Alaska territory was pretty much ignored. Thirty years after Russia sold Alaska, gold strikes in the Yukon and near Fairbanks changed the ungoverned free-for-all part of Alaska forever. Government controls rushed in to also “profit” from the gold strikes.

Tami is standing on the last remaining snowfield caused by an avalanche next to the Byron Glacier.
Tami is standing on a snowfield caused by an avalanche next to the Byron Glacier.

By 1917 Palmer (the town) sported a train stop. The purpose of the train was to connect Anchorage to the coal mines in Chickaloon. Chickaloon is located up the Matanuska River, which starts at the Matanuska Glacier. In August we intend to drive the route, through Chickaloon, when we travel from Anchorage to Valdez.

The snow to the left of the center of the picture is part of one of the many glaciers in the Portage Valley. In this case, it is the Byron Glacier connected to the Sargent Icefield.
The snow to the left of the center of the picture is part of one of the many glaciers in the Portage Valley. In this case, it is the Byron Glacier connected to the Sargent Icefield.

On our route south of Denali National Park, we got a different view of Alaska. Instead of wild, this part of Alaska is occupied. We were following the Parks Highway southbound from Denali National Park and Denali State Park. With the exception of Denali Park, the tourist trap town at the entrance to the park, for a span of 350 miles south of Fairbanks, we were seeing gas stations marked on the map as towns. Part of my story about Denali is about finding my mail at a gas station… the postmaster told me that it might be there.

This photo is again from K'esugi Ken Campground viewpoint. It is a seperate photo but at the campground you loose some size perspective that you get with the normal picture taken from Denali Viewpoint South.
This photo of Denali is from K’esugi Ken Campground’s viewpoint.

It was 350 miles between cities with grocery stores. I really loved the route, especially seeing Denail after twelve days in Denali National and Denali State Parks. Here is a link to the story. Denali is the big mountain in the clouds

On our final day at K’esugi Ken we were rewarded with a perfect view of Denali. Also in this picture to the left are the Little Switzerland mountains.
On our final day at K’esugi Ken, we were rewarded with a perfect view of Denali.

Our stay in Palmer

The George Parks Highway connects the towns of Willow, Houston, Wasilla, and Palmer. Palmer is in the Matanuska Valley north of the Matanuska River. To the south, the Matanuska River connects to the Knik Arm of the Cook Inlet. Palmer is about 45 miles north of Anchorage.

To the east of Palmer, there are some intimidating mountains including the one taken from our kayak launch.
To the east of Palmer, there are some intimidating mountains

Palmer and the region have a large selection of grocery stores contrasting this region to our previous 350 miles on the Parks Highway. North of Wasilla, the only groceries are found in gas stations, with the only exception being a tiny grocery store in Denali Park. While in Palmer, we stayed at Finger Lake State Park. While there we gave our kayaks a good wetting while watching float planes take off from the lake.

To the north of Palmer was Hatcher Pass and the Independence Mine State Historical Park. I don’t have any good pictures of Hatcher Pass or the Independence Mine so instead I included the following video made by some friends of ours.

Two weeks ago, a friend of ours, Ramblin Pam, published a video on Youtube and showed us what we missed. So here you go, we missed a lot. Here is a link to her Youtube channel. Ramblin Pam

Our trip to the Independence Mine State Historical Park was a complete failure. We left Palmer in the rain (it rains a lot in Alaska) and when we crossed Hatcher Pass we were in a cloud thick enough that we couldn’t see even 30 feet off the road. We passed Summit Lake at the top of Hatcher Pass without seeing anything other than the sign.

A view of part of Portage Glacier and Portage Lake.
A view of part of Portage Glacier across Portage Lake.

Our stop in Eagle River

A few days later we moved camp to Eagle River State Park. While there we found a brief good weather window to ride the bikes around Eagle River and while there we spent some time and money in the Anchorage Costco. Our previous visit to Costco was in Fairbanks. After our trip south supplies were running very low.

Everywhere we have been in Alaska, including in the cities have bears. This sign was a posted a few days before our stay at Eagle River.
Everywhere we have been in Alaska, including in the cities have bears. This sign was posted a few days before our stay at Eagle River. Perhaps we shouldn’t be riding bikes in Eagle River. Instead of water bottles, we each had a can of bear spray in the water bottle cage. The bear spray would have been pretty useless if we didn’t see the bear before the attack.

Further south to Portage

Several of the above pictures came from Portage Valley. It is located south of Anchorage. Instead of going to the Kenai Peninsula, we turned east towards the Portage Glacier. With any luck, we could see our first close-up Glacier at Portage Lake and visit Whitter. The plan was to find a calm day without rain and paddle our kayaks across Portage Lake all the way to the terminus of the Portage Glacier. Paddling our kayaks across Portage Lake didn’t happen due to the weather and wind, but we did get to go to Whitter. Whitter is a cute town. I will save that story for next week.

Portage Lake leading to Portage Glacier at the end of Portage Valley.
Portage Lake leads to Portage Glacier at the end of Portage Valley. Just beyond the lake is the train tunnel to Whitter. Other than walking over the pass, or arriving by boat, the only way to get to Whitter is to take the train or by driving your car through the train tunnel. It was fun.

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Denali National Park

Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center

Denali State Park

Finger Lake State Park

A History of Alaska Population Settlement

Ramblin Pam’s Youtube Channel

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8 thoughts on “Why Russia sold Alaska to the United States”

  1. You need to go to Exit Glacier when you are on the Kenai Peninsula. It’s quite interesting. Also, the tunnel to Whittier is an interesting drive. Safe travels.

  2. It was a year ago this month that we got “back home again in Indiana,” having left for Alaske May 15. The first week home, I checked out Michener’s “Alaska” from the library. If you have not read it, I recommend it highly. It tells the whole history in novel form. It is also a several hundred page tome. Having experienced many of the places where the story takes place, I was enthralled. I have also really enjoyed revisiting this wondrous place reading your blog.

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