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. The Senate passed the treaty a few days later, but the House held up funding the purchase for more than a year, as the public debate raged over the purchase price and soundness of Seward’s decision.

On October 18, 1867, the United States took possession of Alaska from Russia under the terms of a formal land transfer, in a ceremony in the town of Sitka.

It took almost a century for the Congress to admit Alaska into the fold as a state.

I never get tired of posting this clip.