The Louisiana Purchase (1803) Click on the video below to view youtube presentation:
Ten important facts: 1. land purchased by the United States from France
2. made up of 828,000 square miles (taken from French territory of Louisiane in 1803) 3. included 15 states and 2 Canadian provinces 4. makes up 23% of the United States today 5. The French had long been plagued by wars that had become very costly 6. French financial system was in a wreck and Napoleon Bonaparte realized that he must sell and get money, and that it was not worth it to keep the land in the U.S. 7. The United States wanted the port at New Orleans to control this very important marketplace 8. Thomas Jefferson was President at this time. He received MUCH opposition to this purchase, but he didn't want France and Spain to have the ability to block American trade across the port of New Orleans. 9. The U.S. negotiators were prepared to spend $10 million on the port of New Orleans, so they were pleasantly surprised when the entire regions was offered to them for on $15,000. 10. At the time, purchasing the territory meant doubling the size of the U.S. The price of the land included in the purchase was less than 3 cents per acre.