| Summary/Abstract |
“Probably this treaty stands alone in the history of diplomacy, as an important treaty conceived, initiated, prosecuted and completed, without being preceded or attended by protocols or despatches,” declared U.S. Secretary of State William Henry Seward after he arranged the purchase of Russian America (Alaska).1 The treaty had indeed been negotiated in a highly unconventional manner. Seward and the Russian minister in Washington, Eduard Stoeckl, worked out the terms swiftly and almost alone.2 Stoeckl’s written instructions from his government were only a few pages long. Seward, who received no formal directive at all, merely consulted briefly with U.S. President Andrew Johnson before going ahead.3 No detailed records were kept by either side.
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