The US Virgin Islands were purchased from Denmark; Seward had tried to purchase it and Samana Bay in the dominican republic, but both plans fell through in a Congress mired in acrimony with Andrew Johnson.

While the US Virgin Islnds would eventually be purchased by the US, the dominican republic would be offered again, but with less success.

President Baez, who had discussed the sale of Samana Bay (for $2 million or $1 million if a lease) to the US with Seward's agent, made a similar offer to Secretary of State Fish, under Grant. An annexation treaty for the whole of Santo Domingo (as the Dominican republic was known then) was signed and a referendum arranged by Baez passed.

However, there was little support for the treaty outside Grant's circle,and the treaty failed in the Senate. for a variety of reasos (eg Sumner thought it expensive and the tropical regions inconducive to immigrants, and potentially leading to an american empire, other preferred other targets. The Tribune talked about the US "buy a lively revolution and a dropsical debt". Stories of Dominica as a market were offset by southerners talking about sugar supply delaying the recovery of Louisiana (reember this was reconstruction era) and the loss of tariff revenue. Arguments from earlier debates (eg alaska 3 years earlier) were recycled.