The Louisiana Purchase was a monumental land deal between the United States and France, signed on April 30, 1803. This transaction saw the U.S. doubling its size overnight by acquiring approximately 828,000 square miles of territory from France for $15 million, which equates to about four cents per acre.
Originally, the territory was ceded by Spain to France in the secret Treaty of San Ildefonso in 1800. However, Napoleon Bonaparte's ambitions in the New World were thwarted by several factors including:
The negotiations for the purchase were conducted in Paris by James Monroe and Robert R. Livingston, representing the United States. Initially, they were instructed to negotiate the purchase of New Orleans and the Florida panhandle. However, Talleyrand, the French foreign minister, offered the entire Louisiana Territory, which was a surprising and unexpected proposition.
The acquisition had profound effects:
The purchase raised questions about the Constitution of the United States regarding the power to acquire foreign territories. Thomas Jefferson, then President, was initially concerned about his authority to make such an acquisition but eventually supported the deal, citing the necessity for national security and economic growth.
The territory was organized into the Territory of Orleans and the District of Louisiana, with the former becoming the state of Louisiana in 1812. The rest of the land was gradually divided into several states including Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and parts of Minnesota, Oklahoma, and New Mexico.
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