What Was The Louisiana Purchase

Words: 267
Pages: 2

The Louisiana Purchase was one of the most profitable land acquisitions in U.S. history. Bought from the French under the rule of Napoleon Bonaparte for fifteen million dollars, the Louisiana territory doubled the size of the United States. The man who bought the massive territory from the French in 1803 was James Monroe. The extensive Louisiana territory was roughly 828,000 square miles. It stretched from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains. The Louisiana Territory included part or all of 15 states that were created from the land deal. Before the Americans bought the Louisiana Territory, Napoleon threatened to close off American access to the port of New Orleans. This would have hurt the american settlements on the western side of the Appalachian mountains had made because they required the port to transport goods to the markets because overland trade was expensive and impractical. …show more content…
The western expansion began to sweep out into the newly acquired territory and a territorial government was established to help run the rapidly growing United States. In 1812, nine years after the Louisiana purchase was made a new state was made and added to the Union, Louisiana. Although the Louisiana purchase was extremely beneficial for the United States, it created several controversial questions that could have led the U.S. into disaster. Some Federalist New Englanders, among other groups, started talking about seceding from the U.S. because its political power was significantly reduced by the purchase. Regardless the Louisiana Purchase was one of the most beneficial land additions for the United