[originaltext] Alaska is across the Bering Strait from Siberia.(7)Russia had

Alaska is across the Bering Strait from Siberia.(7)Russia had taken control of the territory in the seventeen hundreds.The Russians traded with native groups there, but later decided to offer the land for sale. American Secretary of State William Seward had wanted to buy it for a long time. He quickly prepared a treaty for purchase. The sale took place in 1867, while Andrew Johnson was president.(8)The United States paid Russia just over seven million dollars.Many Americans thought the deal was foolish. Seven million dollars was too much for what they thought was a worthless piece of frozen land.(9)But American traders and business leaders knew that it was rich with resources.They said owning it would improve business for states along the Pacific coast. Political leaders said the purchase would be good for the United States, because it would end all Russian presence in North America. And they said it would help guarantee friendly relations with Russia. Alaskans first asked to become a state in 1916. Finally, in 1958, Congress approved the Alaskan Statehood Act. Alaska became the forty-ninth state on January third, 1959. Hawaii became the fiftieth state in August of that year. Alaska borders northwestern Canada. For its seven million dollars, the United States got Alaska’s oil, natural gas, forests, salmon, gold and copper and other resources. Alaska is the largest in territory of the fifty states yet forty-seventh in population. Fewer than 700, 000 people live there.