<P> Russia continued to see an opportunity to weaken British power by causing British Columbia , including the Royal Navy base at Esquimalt , to be surrounded or annexed by American territory . Following the Union victory in the civil war , the Tsar instructed the Russian minister to the United States , Eduard de Stoeckl , to re-enter into negotiations with William Seward in the beginning of March 1867 . President Johnson was entangled in negotiations about Reconstruction and Seward had alienated a number of Republicans , so they believed that the purchase would help divert attention from the current domestic matters . The negotiations concluded after an all - night session with the signing of the treaty at 04 : 00 on March 30 , 1867 , with the purchase price set at $7.2 million ( $1.8 billion in 2016 ) , or about 2 cents per acre ( $4.74 / km ) . </P>
<P> Russia continued to see an opportunity to weaken British power by causing British Columbia , including the Royal Navy base at Esquimalt , to be surrounded or annexed by American territory . Following the Union victory in the civil war , the Tsar instructed the Russian minister to the United States , Eduard de Stoeckl , to re-enter into negotiations with William Seward in the beginning of March 1867 . President Johnson was entangled in negotiations about Reconstruction and Seward had alienated a number of Republicans , so they believed that the purchase would help divert attention from the current domestic matters . The negotiations concluded after an all - night session with the signing of the treaty at 04 : 00 on March 30 , 1867 , with the purchase price set at $7.2 million ( $1.8 billion in 2016 ) , or about 2 cents per acre ( $4.74 / km ) . </P>
what was the price paid for the louisiana purchase
what was the price paid for the louisiana purchase
$7.2 million ( $1.8 billion in 2016 )
$7.2 million ( $1.8 billion in 2016 )