Louisiana+Purchase

Louisiana Purchase
President Jefferson worried the French would choose to close down the Port of New Orleans to Americans. He sent James Monroe to France to try to buy New Orleans. James Monroe came back from France with an offer to buy New Orleans and all of Louisiana for a price of $15 million. France’s offer gave Jefferson a chance to double the size of the United States at a then bargain price of 4 cents per acre. The Purchase was made in 1803.

The area lies between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains, stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to the Canadian border, a total of 827,987 square miles. Part or all of 15 states were later formed from this region. Those states include: Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wyoming, South Dakota, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Missouri, Texas, New Mexico, and Arkansas.