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Hello all,

In 1867 Czar Alexander II of Russia decided to sell the territory of Alaska America, both to raise money and fearing that the hard to defend territory could easily be captured by the British. In March 1867, Russia's minister to the United States met with Secretary of State William Seward. A deal was reached for the US to purchase the territory from Russia at the cost of $7,200,000. The purchase was subsequently ratified by the Senate on April 19th in a 37-2 vote and by the House in July 1868 by a vote of 113-48. Ownership was transferred on October 18th, 1867 (Gregorian calendar). Aside from a few prominent critics, US public reaction was generally positive.

So my question is, what if the United States had not purchased Alaska in 1867?

One possible POD would be that Seward and the Russians are not able to come up with a satisfactory treaty. Seward was an expansionist, and the Russians were looking to sell, so I don't know how likely this would be. Perhaps the Russians ask a higher price and Congress fails to ratify the treaty?

A second possible POD: in 1865 Seward was attacked in his home as part of the plot to kill Lincoln in OT. Seward was stabbed several times in the face but escaped narrowly escaped death. What if Seward had died and been replaced with a less expansionist minded Secretary of State? Alternately, what if Seward had survived but his son Fredrick (who was wounded but survived in OT) had died? As in OT, Sewards wife and daughter die within a year. Seward is unable to continue to serve and resigns due to grief and is again replaced with someone who does not go through with the purchase.

So, what happens if Alaska remains in Russian hands? Do the British or some other nation conquer the territory? Does the territory remain Russian long enough for Gold to be discovered? How would America have been different going into the 1900's?
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