Louisiana Purchase Essay

Page 1: The United States was growing and needed more landIn 1803, the United States purchased a large area of French land through the Louisiana Purchase. There had been rapid growth in the United States. Through the Northwest Territory, people had been expanding westward to plant crops and raise livestock beyond the Appalachian Mountains. People needed more land to expand as these lands became more popular, so the west was the obvious choice. Land ownership, especially the ownership of small farms, was the best way to ensure the survival of a republic by ensuring independence and virtue among its citizens.

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The deal was needed for both people. New Orleans was a settlement that Thomas Jefferson wanted to purchase from the French. Because of its location along the Mississippi River, it was a major seaport for American businesses. Robert Livingston was sent by him as the French Emperor's Minister to France in order to get the land for him. At first Napoleon didn’t want to sell the land to Thomas Jefferson. He had hoped to create a massive empire. He had wanted it to be for the Americans too. Thoughts Soon Napoleon began to have struggles about money

But, in 1803, Napoleon offered to sell the Louisiana Territory to the United States for $15 million.

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Lewis and Clark helped a lot during the purchase

The state was divided into 15 different states. Thomas had paid $1 million dollars for each state, and about 18 dollars for every square mile. This was about 3 cents an acre. A stretch of land stretching east to west from the Mississippi river to the rocky mountains was known as the Louisiana purchase. The Gulf of Mexico and New Orlans were its southernmost points. To the North it included much of Minnesota, All the way to the Canadian border in North Dakota and Montana.. Napoleon sent a lot of land to T. Jefferson. He had sold a total of 828,000 square miles to