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Table of Contents
The Louisiana Purchase of 1803 was a land deal between the United States of America and France. It was considered to be the largest territory purchase made by the United States. Acquiring approximately 828,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains, the Louisiana Purchase extended from the Gulf of Mexico at New Orleans up to the Red River to the Canadian River for $15 million; and under four cents an acre.
See the fact file below for more information on the Louisiana Purchase or alternatively, you can download our 26-page The Louisiana Purchase worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.
Key Facts & Information
UNDER THE FRENCH
- In 1682 Robert de La Salle, a French explorer, claimed the entire Mississippi Valley for France and named it “La Louisiane” (meaning Land of Louis) after King Louis XIV. The Valley later became a royal colony in 1699. La Louisiane was given the nickname “Pelican State” because pelicans inhabited the Gulf coast of the region.
- In 1712, King Louis XIV granted Antoine Crozat, a merchant, and a nobleman, to gain control over all foreign and domestic trade in Louisiana. However, he was unable to sustain the colony and lost well over $1 billion. He then petitioned for release from his charter.
- Fearful that the province would again go bankrupt, Philippe, Duke of Orléans, appointed John Law ( a Scottish economist and investment banker) as the Controller General of Finances of France.
- In 1716, John Law founded a private bank, the “Banque Royale,” and set up the use of paper money. The Bank was tied to the East and West Indies Company, which held a business monopoly of commerce on all the seas. Which then gave rise to the company’s name – “The Mississippi Company.”
- In 1718, New Orleans became the territorial capital of France and was named after Philippe Charles II, Duke of Orléans.
- While enduring economic losses in 1720, the Mississippi Company became known as the Mississippi Bubble, which lead to a significant increase in stock prices, followed by a rapid collapse in stock prices.
- In 1731, the Company of the East returned Louisiana to King Louis XIV. On February 10, 1763, the Treaty of Paris was signed. This resulted in the end of the Seven Years War, also known as The French and Indian War in North America (1754-1763) between Great Britain and France.
- During the negotiation of The Treaty of Paris, France secretly agreed with Spain. The Treaty of Fontainebleau (1762) resulted in France surrendering Louisiana to Spain. Through this treaty, the United States obtained the right to travel to New Orleans, which allows them to utilize the New Orleans port facilities.
- However, in 1800 the Third Treaty of San Ildefonso is signed between Napoleon Bonaparte (a French Military General) and King Charles IV of Spain – a secret agreement in which Spain agreed to return Louisiana to France in exchange for territories in Tuscany, Italy.
- In 1801, King Charles IV of Spain issued the Treaty of Aranjuez, confirming the Third Treaty of San Ildefonso.
PURCHASE NEGOTIATION
- Within 24 hours of signing the treaty, Napoleon Bonaparte acquired Louisiana and Mississippi Valley as the Colonial Empire in North America.
- In 1802, the United States’ rights to trade in the port of New Orleans were revoked by the Spanish Intendant, Juan Morales.
- With the leak of the secret agreement, Napoleon planned for a Colonial Empire and threatened the United States and all of its trading rights and interior settlements. The United States President Thomas Jefferson wrote in a letter to US Minister Robert Livingston if France took possession: “every eye in the US. is now fixed on this affair of Louisiana. Perhaps nothing since the revolutionary war has produced more uneasy sensations through the body of the nation.”
- As a result, Thomas Jefferson wanted to purchase the New Orleans; he then ordered US Minister Livingston and James Monroe to negotiate with Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, Napoleon’s minister.
- For months, the negotiations had no explicit agreement. However, in 1803, Napoleon offered Louisiana to the United States. Amongst the reasons were: (1) In 1799, France weakened with the loss of the Saint Dominique war, (2) there weren’t enough troops to control Louisiana (3), and France had an impending war with Great Britain.
- Signed on May 2, 1803 and announced on 30 April, the treaty stated that the Louisiana Territory was received by France from Spain and was sold to the United States for $11,250,000.
- The wording of the treaty was vague in terms of defining the boundaries of the purchase. As a result, the purchase faced issues on its constitutionality. Jefferson, a known constructionist believed that an amendment was necessary to legalize the purchase.
- The dispute on boundaries was contested by Spain and Britain. In 1819, this was settled when the United States purchased West Florida and Texas from Spain. While the northern boundary was established by an Anglo-American convention in 1818.
- As a result, the United States covered present-day Louisiana, Missouri, Arkansas, North and South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Montana, Minnesota and Wyoming.
- In late 1803, a flag-raising ceremony in the Plaza de Armas, present-day Jackson Square, marked the French turnover of New Orleans to the Americans.
- A similar flag-raising ceremony was conducted in St. Louis, March 1804. This transfer of territory from Spain to France and France to the United States is commemorated as Three Flags Day.
- By October 1804, the purchase formally organized the territory into the Territory of Orleans and the District of Louisiana.
- In 1804, the Lewis and Clark Expedition was launched to explore and chart the territory.
AFTERMATH
- Following the purchase, the Louisiana Territory was broken into smaller administrative regions and territories. At that time, the population was mixed with French, Mexican, and Spanish descent, who were dominantly Catholics. Aside from the European population, there was also a considerable portion of African slaves in the territory.
- Similar to the existing southern states, new territories passed slavery laws with some provisions adapted from the French and Spanish rule.
- In 1808, military forts and trading factories were established along the Missouri River. As a result of the War of 1812, the United States abandoned both forts. It was only retrieved in 1814, under the Treaty of Ghent.
- The negotiations of the Louisiana Purchase did not consult the Native American Indian tribes inhabiting the territory. Four decades after the purchase, Native American Indian tribes faced an era of removal. This era of court decisions displacing them from their ancestral domain became known as the Trail of Tears.
- Geographically, the Louisiana Purchase doubled the nominal size of the United States of America.
The Louisiana Purchase Worksheets
This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the Louisiana Purchase across 26 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use The Louisiana Purchase worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 which was a land deal between the United States of America and France. It was considered to be the largest territory purchase made by the United States. Acquiring approximately 828,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains, the Louisiana Purchase extended from the Gulf of Mexico at New Orleans up to the Red River to the Canadian River for $15 million; and under four cents an acre.
Complete List Of Included Worksheets
- Louisiana Purchase Facts
- Map Analysis
- Three Flags Day
- Key People
- Napoleon’s Mind
- Thomas Jefferson
- Under the French
- Other Thirteen
- Treaties to Remember
- Word Scramble
- The Trail of Tears
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