Sarah Palin wasn't born until five years later, but in 1959, Pres. Eisenhower made it official. In 1867, Secretary of State William Seward closed the deal acquiring Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million under Pres. Lincoln's purview. It was dubbed Seward's Folly. Seward negotiated the deal in an extended bargaining session with Russian minister to the United States Eduard de Stoeckl on March 30, 1867.