Essays on Louisiana Purchase

May 2, 1803

United States

France, United States

The purchase of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from Napoleonic France was in 1803. The total price was $27,267,622. It extended from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and from the Gulf of Mexico to British America. This purchase doubled the area of the United States.

In 1802 Spanish authorities, under the French influence, revoked a American-Spanish treaty that granted Americans the right to store goods in New Orleans. Probably, British naval blockade of France, a slave revolution in Haiti and economic difficulties in the country were the reasons why Napoleon offered Louisiana for sale to the United States. At the end of April 1803, the Louisiana Territory was sold to the United States for $15 million.

This purchase was Jefferson’s most notable achievements as president. He altered the shape of a nation and the course of history. The purchase led to the issues with indigenous people land rights. Louisiana was the first state to be carved from the new territory that was admitted into the Union as the 18th state.