What Happen In Lousianna Purchase

Question

What is Louisiana Purchase? What happened in this? Gimme some details information about this.

Answer 1

Hi Amy!

The Louisiana Purchase, finalized in 1803, was the selling of the Louisiana territory (named after King Louis XIV of France) by the French Government to the United States Government.

At the end of the negotiations, the United States handed over $15 million dollars for the approximately 530,000,000 acres of land (around 4 cents an acre). This acquisition of land doubled the size of the United States.

Now, you might be wondering, why would France want to sell such a valuable and strategic swath of land?

Well, it was because France was essentially broke. Napoleon Bonaparte, who was the First Consul (head of the government) of the French Republic at the time, had started and/or involved France in many wars across Europe.

War is very expensive and Napoleon was running out of funds to keep his armies in tact. So, he decided that the Louisiana Territory, which was far away from France and therefore difficulty to maintain sovereignty over, was the best place to acquire substantial assets.

I hope you found my answer helpful. Please reach out if you have any further questions, would like to discuss this topic further, or are interested in scheduling a free consultation!

Answer 2

The Louisiana Purchase refers to the United States' purchase of the Louisiana Territory from France (led by Napoleon Bonaparte) during Thomas Jefferson's presidency. It provided the US with large amounts of land, nearly doubling the US in size. This in turn allowed Americans to expand westward, though it did lead to some conflicts with Native American groups whose lands were within the territory. Later, as new states were added, it contributed to the debate over slavery as there were quarrels about admitting the new states as free states or slave states. Lewis and Clark famously explored the new land, providing a great deal of information about the American West from their expedition.