The Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition of the Louisiana territory by the United States from France in 1803. For $15 million, the U.S. purchased about 828,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River, nearly doubling the size of the country. This vast territory included land that would form all or part of 15 current U.S. states and two Canadian provinces. The purchase was a strategic move to gain control of the crucial Mississippi River port of New Orleans and to expand U.S. territory westward. Although the area was largely inhabited by Native Americans and only partially controlled by France, the deal secured U.S. sovereignty over the land. The treaty was signed in Paris and ratified by the U.S. Senate despite initial constitutional concerns by President Thomas Jefferson. The purchase set the stage for future expansion across the continent and significantly shaped American history and geography.
