Alaska was a great deal, the best deal. The acquisition of Alaska is best understood in the context of tensions between the U.S. & Russia, on one side, & Canada & Britain, on the other. A result of those tensions was Canada's independence 3 months after the Alaska deal. https://t.co/8K2ZKH42DZ
There was a significant amount of saber-rattling at both Canada & Mexico in 1866-67. Also bitterness at Canada for harboring Confederates during the Civil War. Nathaniel Banks proposed legislation to annex Canada.