The Louisiana Purchase: a Deal between the US and France

The Louisiana Purchase (1803) was a land deal between the United States and France, in which the U.S. acquired approximately 828,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River. The territory stretched from the Mississippi River to the west of the United States. It's southernmost tip was the city of New Orleans and the North included Minnesota, North Dakota, and Montana up to the border of Canada. Today, the land included in the purchase comprises about ? of the United States territory. The louisiana purchase is significant in American history because it helped the U.S. acquire almost half of the land we live on today and nearly doubled the size of the U.S. It also helped the U.S. because it helped them gain control of the Mississippi River.

The U.S. had been growing rapidly. In search of new land to plant crops and raise livestock. Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte was who sold the Louisiana property and he sold it because his attention was being consumed by the war and began to saw the territory as a burden. In 1803 Napoleon sold the territory. He decided to sell 828,000 square miles to the U.S. for the amazing price of 15 million U.S. dollars. At first Napoleon refused to sell. He had hopes of creating a massive empire that included the Americas. Soon, Napoleon began to have troubles in Europe and need money desperately and ended up selling the territory. Napoleon also didn't mind selling the land as he thought it would hurt his enemy, England. Thomas Jefferson The Louisiana purchase occurred during the third presidency of the United States, The president at this time was Thomas Jefferson. In 1803 the Louisiana purchase added Creoles and French settlers to the U.S. population.

The Louisiana purchase also re-ignited controversy over the spread of slavery in the U.S. The Louisiana purchase was a treaty. Why? Because the Constitution grants the president the power to negotiate treaties which is exactly what Thomas Jefferson did. Lewis and Clark Expedition The Louisiana territory was so big that Jefferson sent Meriwether Lewis and William Clark on an expedition to explore the newly bought territory. Tragedy; Slavery and the Civil War The issue of slavery in the Western land of the territory became a major issue in later years and part of the cause of the American Civil War.

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