Alaska Purchase

Once upon a time, a long long time ago, the United States of America wanted to buy a very big piece of land called Alaska. The land was very far away from the rest of America, and it was very cold and covered in snow.

The man who sold the land to America was called Tsar Alexander II. He was the leader of a country called Russia, which owned Alaska at the time. Tsar Alexander II decided to sell Alaska to America because he needed money and there were some other problems going on in Russia, so he wanted to focus on those instead.

Now, some people thought that America paid too much money for Alaska, like when you get the biggest ice cream cone ever and give away all your allowance. But actually, America got a pretty good deal because there were lots of valuable things in Alaska, like oil and minerals, that they could use later on.

So, the President of America at the time, his name was Andrew Johnson, sent a man named William Seward to buy Alaska from Tsar Alexander II. William Seward was very brave and he did a good job bargaining with the Tsar. In the end, America paid $7.2 million for Alaska, which sounds like a lot, but it was about two cents an acre!

Now, when America first bought Alaska, some people weren't very happy about it. They thought it was too far away from the rest of America and that it was basically a giant block of ice. But over time, people began to realize how valuable Alaska really was, and today it is known as one of the most beautiful and important states in America.