Before 1803, the United States did not extend past the borders of Illinois, Mississippi, Kentucky, and Tennessee. The territory beyond this range and up until the Rocky Mountain was owned by France. Since the 1500s, French explorers had claimed large swaths of the New World. By the 1700s, France held the most North American territory out of all European nations.
In 1762, France allied with Native tribes fought against the English for control of their territories. Following a defeat, France ceded its territory to Spain under the promise that the Spanish monarchy would support France in the war against Britain.
For the few decades that Spain held the territory, its presence in North America was waning. A British naval blockade prevented the Spanish from traveling to the New World. Unable to defend or develop the territory, Spain allowed Americans to travel on the Mississippi for trade purposes. This friendly relationship led then-President Thomas Jefferson to believe that acquiring the territory would be a simple process. However, In 1801, Spain returned the territory to the French.
When news of this reached the newly formed American government, officials feared their hopes for westward expansion would be thwarted by the then-French emperor Napoleon. He had previously shown his ambition to strengthen France's colonial presence. The Americans' fears were further confirmed when the Spanish invalidated the trade treaty with the United States.
President Thomas Jefferson chose a diplomatic route to ending the uncertainty. In 1803, the United States ambassador to France Robert Livingston and the then Governor of Virginia, future president James Monroe, traveled to France to negotiate a deal.
Jefferson instructed them to bargain for the purchase of a few territories around Florida and New Orleans. Surprisingly when the envoys arrived in Paris, they found that Napoleon was selling the entire Lousiana territory. Within a few weeks, France and the United States signed a deal to trade the 828,000 square mile territory for around 15 million U.S. dollars.
Historians attribute the success of the Louisiana Purchase to several factors. Ongoing wars with Britain had left France with massive debt and the need for a surplus of cash. Further, thousands of French soldiers died trying to end the slave rebellion in Haiti.
Napoleon believed if Haiti declared independence, the Louisiana territory would be strategically challenging to maintain. Faced with the potential of guarding Lousiana against British and American attacks from the Northern border to the Gulf of Mississippi while also fighting the British on the European front, Napolean decided selling the territory would be the best course of action.
The Louisiana Purchase was finalized on December 20th, 1803. The acquisition caused the United States to double in size virtually overnight. Explorers Lewis, Clark, and Sacagawea navigated the territory on behalf of the president. Over the next few decades, the United States gained more than a dozen states from the new territory, including the Dakotas, Louisiana, and Missouri.
Many historians consider the Lousiana purchase one of the most pivotal events in American history. Due to the wealth and influence, the United States gained from possessing the territory, the country was able to develop into a regional and eventually global power.
