Is it possible to double the size of your country overnight? President Thomas Jefferson accomplished this through the Louisiana Purchase on November 10, 1803. The American government finalized this mass transfer of North American land from France by paying the latter $11 million. The United States gained an additional 828,000 square miles, encompassing the territory from today’s Montana north to New Orleans south. Beyond the acquisition of land and resources, this strategic purchase benefitted the United States in several other ways, including the exploration and eventual expansion toward the west coast of North America.
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Jetzt kostenlos anmeldenIs it possible to double the size of your country overnight? President Thomas Jefferson accomplished this through the Louisiana Purchase on November 10, 1803. The American government finalized this mass transfer of North American land from France by paying the latter $11 million. The United States gained an additional 828,000 square miles, encompassing the territory from today’s Montana north to New Orleans south. Beyond the acquisition of land and resources, this strategic purchase benefitted the United States in several other ways, including the exploration and eventual expansion toward the west coast of North America.
The history of the Louisiana Purchase is wrought with colonial conflict.
In the 16th-18th centuries, Britain and France colonized much of the North American continent. Britain possessed the Thirteen Colonies. They eventually declared independence in 1776 and formed the United States. New France (1534-1763) comprised five administrative regions in North America:
The entire French holdings encompassed the land from the Canadian prairies to the northeast and from Hudson’s Bay to the Gulf of Mexico.
However, France remained in a prolonged conflict with Britain over trade and territory. The end of colonial France in North America came with the French Indian War (1754-1763).
Louisiana went to Spain through the Treaty of Fontainebleau (1762). However, Spain did not challenge the British control of the land east of the Mississippi River and kept western Louisiana. Louisiana returned to France in 1802 through the Third Treaty of San Ildefonso (1800) and the Treaty of Aranjuez (1801). In other words, between 1763-1803, the control of Louisiana changed from France to Britain in the east and Spain in the west to France again and, finally, to the United States.
Spain’s reasons for returning Louisiana to France came from its unstable position in the region. Through Pinckney’s Treaty (Treaty of San Lorenzo) agreed upon in 1795, the United States and Spain worked out their territorial disputes.
For instance, American ships were allowed to travel through the Mississippi River and New Orleans without paying duty. This agreement also recognized the border of the United States in the west and south.
Therefore, this treaty greatly benefitted the United States rather than Spain.
The reason for the return of Louisiana to France was Napoleon’s I dream of linking Louisiana to the French-controlled Saint-Domingue (Haiti). These colonial possessions were to grant France access to significant resources, such as the sugar industry in the Caribbean. Napoleon I first articulated his vision around 1795. However, the French were too bogged down in an imperial quagmire—such as the rising tensions with Britain—to truly regain their colonial control over a significant part of North America. As a result, Napoleon I ultimately decided to sell Louisiana to the United States.
The purchase of Louisiana was not immediate. The Third Treaty of San Ildefonso was a secret, but the Americans learned about it through their minister to Great Britain. Then, Thomas Jefferson sought to suggest purchasing New Orleans and evaluating the rest of Louisiana. Eventually, the U.S. House first had to approve France’s payment.
Some politicians questioned the legality of increasing the territory of the United States. Furthermore, Thomas Jefferson communicated and negotiated with Napoleon’s I administration. His communication did not always involve Congress. The latter was an early example of a President acting without Congressional guidance.
Date | Event |
1754-1763 | The French and Indian War took place between Britain and France, and later, Spain, in North America. |
1762 | The Treaty of Fontainebleau was a treaty between France and Spain in which Spain acquired Louisiana before the end of the French and Indian War. |
1763 | The Treaty of Paris formally ended the French and Indian War. France effectively lost its colonies in North America. |
1795 | Pinckney’s Treaty (Treaty of San Lorenzo) was a treaty between Spain and the United States about the southern border of the U.S. and its access to the Mississippi River. |
1800-1801 | The Third Treaty of San Ildefonso and the Treaty of Aranjuez returned Louisiana to France before the U.S purchased it. |
1803 | The Louisiana Purchase was finalized between France and the U.S. |
1804-1806 | Lewis and Clark's journey exploring Louisiana to the Pacific Coast took place. |
The image below shows a map from 1903 that depicts the territory of the Lousiana Purchase from France.
Whereas buying Louisiana was relatively simple, incorporating it into the United States was more complex. For instance, the exact boundaries of Louisiana were unclear in the previous treaties, such as that of Fontainebleau. This ambiguity precipitated a conflict with Spain. Those populating Louisiana were ethnically diverse—from colonial Europeans such as the French and Spanish to the Indigenous tribes and African slaves. The residents were, therefore, not treated equally.
The United States government acquired land that various Indigenous people already populated. The negotiations between the United States and France did not include them.
Louisiana also had a long history of slavery. Spain was one of the central powers engaged in the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. The French residents also owned slaves from the Caribbean.
The large-scale slave revolt in the French colony of Saint-Domingue (Haiti) between 1791-1804 led to the former colony’s independence. The scale and success of this revolt greatly concerned the Louisiana slave owners. As a result, Louisiana received slavery laws from the U.S. government that covered smaller administrative areas.
The message of President Thomas Jefferson concerning the cession of the province of Louisiana to the United States; 10/21/1803; Records Relating to Foreign Relations during the 8th Congress; Records Relating to Treaties with Foreign Countries, 1789 - 2000; Records of the U.S. Senate, Record Group 46; National Archives Building, Washington, DC. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/jefferson-congress-louisiana-territory, February 16, 2022].
Historians have examined the Louisiana Purchase from a variety of perspectives, including:
Following the purchase of Louisiana, the U.S. government sought to explore its territory. It tasked Captain Meriwether Lewis and Lieutenant William Clark to determine whether there was a waterway connecting the Columbia and Missouri Rivers. Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery successfully investigated and documented a part of the North American continent to the Pacific Ocean between 1804 and 1806.
The Lewis and Clark expedition also communicated diplomatically with the Indigenous people they encountered on the way. The first half of the journey began in St. Louis and concluded on the Oregon coast. The explorers also contributed to science by recording information regarding 122 new animals and 178 new plants.
Lewis and Clark’s expedition's success involved discovering hundreds of species of plants and animals. Some of the North American animals and birds feature prominently in the Rocky Mountains, including1:
The American drive westward continued after Lewis and Clark until the United States reached its present-day borders. The concept of Manifest Destiny, introduced in 1845 by the writer John O’Sullivan, advocated the expansion of the United States. This concept involved religious undertones, which fused colonial expansion with a mission to do so granted by God. This expansion occurred by various means. For instance, the United States purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867.
The Louisiana Purchase took place on November 10, 1803, when the United States acquired the Louisiana territory from France.
The Louisiana Purchase took place on November 10, 1803, when the United States acquired the Louisiana territory from France. The United States doubled the size of its territory and continued to push westward.
The Louisiana Purchase occurred between the governments of the United States and France led by Thomas Jefferson and Napoleon I, respectively.
The United States gained land and resources through the Louisiana Purchase and doubled its territory.
The Louisiana Purchase doubled the size of the United States. It gave the United States access to additional resources. The Purchase also allowed the United States to continue expanding westward.
When did the Louisiana Purchase take place?
1803
Which American President carried out the Louisiana Purchase?
Thomas Jefferson
Which country sold Louisiana to the United States?
France
Who explored Louisiana for the American government in 1804-1806?
Lewis and Clark
Which country controlled western Louisiana between 1762-1800?
Spain
Which countries signed the Treaty of San Lorenzo of 1795?
The United States and Spain
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