The Andrew Johnson Alaska Seal Order consists of a single volume containing the original autograph manuscript from President Andrew Johnson, dated May 28, 1867, directing Secretary of State William H. Seward to affix the seal of the United States to the treaty concerning the cession of Alaska.
Andrew Johnson (1808-1875) was the seventeenth President of the United States from 1865 to 1869. Johnson took office after the assasination of President Abraham Lincoln. He implemented controversial Reconstruction policies and was the first President to be impeached.
William H. Seward (1801-1872) was the Secretary of State of the United States from 1861 to 1869. Prior to this he was a Senator from New York from 1849 to 1861 and the Governor of New York from 1839 to 1842.
Seward played a key role in the American purchase of Alaska from the Russian Empire in 1867. Russia began establishing colonial outposts in parts of Alaska in the early eighteenth century. In 1856, after suffering major losses during the Crimean War, Russian Emperor Alexander II feared further British incursion into Russian territory, and considered approaching the United States about a potential transfer of territory. As Secretary of State, William Seward negotiated with Eduard de Stoeckl, Russian Ambassador to the United States. The treaty, signed on March 30, 1867, stipulated that the territory of Alaska would be transferred to the United States on October 18, 1867 in exchange for $7.2 million.
The Andrew Johnson Alaska Seal Order consists of a single volume containing the original autograph manuscript from President Andrew Johnson, dated May 28, 1867, directing Secretary of State William H. Seward to affix the seal of the United States to the treaty concerning the cession of Alaska.
Also contained within the volume is a typed document describing the manuscript and treaty signing, and a photocopy of a notecard about the document.
Donated by Hildegard Bachert in 2019.
Processed by Christopher Arena in 2024.