# Canonical recap data for Louisiana Purchase (1803)
# Source: https://recap.at/1803/louisiana-purchase
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: louisiana-purchase
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1803/louisiana-purchase"
title: Louisiana Purchase
aliases:
- Purchase of Louisiana
- 1803 Land Purchase
- Monroe-Livingston Treaty
- Acquisition of Louisiana Territory
subtitle: Jefferson's acquisition of vast Western territories doubled U.S. land area and catalyzed westward expansion and settler colonialism.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1803-04-30
datePrecision: day
year: 1803
decade: 1800
country:
name: United States
slug: united-states
summaryShort: The Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. This consisted of most of the land in the Mississippi River's drainage basin west of the river. In return for fifteen million dollars, or approximately eighteen dollars per square mile (
summaryLong: The Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. This consisted of most of the land in the Mississippi River's drainage basin west of the river. In return for fifteen million dollars, or approximately eighteen dollars per square mile ($7/km2), the United States nominally acquired a total of 828,000 sq mi of land now in the Central United States. However, France only controlled a small fraction of this area, most of which was inhabited by Native Americans; effectively, for the majority of the area, the United States bought the preemptive right to obtain Indian lands by treaty or by conquest, to the exclusion of other colonial powers.
lede: In 1803, the United States purchased roughly 828,000 square miles of territory from France for $15 million, doubling the nation's size overnight. The deal, negotiated by James Monroe and Robert Livingston in Paris, gave America control of the Mississippi River and New Orleans—critical for western expansion and trade. France, cash-strapped from wars in Europe and a failed campaign in Haiti, was willing to sell.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/57/Louisiana_Purchase.png/1280px-Louisiana_Purchase.png"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "Louisiana Purchase"
importance: 86
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Territory acquired
  value: Approximately 828,000 square miles
- label: Purchase price
  value: $15,000,000
- label: Cost per square mile
  value: Roughly $18
- label: Percentage of U.S. territory added
  value: Doubled the existing U.S. land area
- label: Negotiators
  value: James Monroe and Robert Livingston for the U.S.; François Barbé-Marbois for France
- label: Key city gained
  value: New Orleans
- label: Treaty signed
  value: April 30, 1803
- label: Ratified by Senate
  value: October 20, 1803
timeline:
- date: 1763-11-03
  title: Treaty of Paris ends French-Indian War
  description: France cedes vast North American territories to Britain, setting stage for later American westward pressure and French desire to regain continental influence.
- date: 1795-10-27
  title: Treaty of San Lorenzo signed
  description: U.S. and Spain agree to free navigation of the Mississippi River and right of deposit in New Orleans, highlighting the strategic importance of the city to American commerce.
- date: 1801-10-01
  title: Treaty of Aranjuez
  description: Spain agrees to cede Louisiana back to France, alarming American leaders and prompting Jefferson to authorize Monroe's mission to Paris.
- date: 1803-04-11
  title: Barbé-Marbois approaches Livingston
  description: The French foreign minister's representative unexpectedly offers to sell the entire Louisiana territory, surprising the American negotiators who had been instructed only to purchase New Orleans.
- date: 1803-04-30
  title: Louisiana Purchase Treaty signed
  description: James Monroe and Robert Livingston sign the treaty in Paris, agreeing to purchase 828,000 square miles for $15 million, contingent on U.S. Senate ratification.
- date: 1803-10-20
  title: Senate ratifies the treaty
  description: The U.S. Senate votes to approve the purchase, clearing the final constitutional hurdle for the transaction to proceed.
- date: 1803-12-20
  title: France formally transfers territory
  description: At a ceremony in New Orleans, French officials formally hand over control of the Louisiana Territory to the United States, completing the transfer of sovereignty.
- date: 1804-05-14
  title: Lewis and Clark Expedition departs
  description: Meriwether Lewis and William Clark launch their expedition from St. Louis to explore the newly acquired territory, beginning the systematic American discovery of western lands.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana_Purchase"
  title: Louisiana Purchase
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: The Louisiana Purchase fundamentally reshaped American geography and geopolitics, removing a major European power from North America and opening the continent to westward expansion. It transformed the U.S. from a coastal nation into a continental one, securing control of the Mississippi River and the port of New Orleans. The deal's precedent—acquiring vast foreign territory through negotiation rather than conquest—influenced American foreign policy for generations.
categories:
- election
taxonomy:
domain: political
eventTypes:
- treaty_signing
- annexation
canonicalClasses:
- exchange
- transformation
- governance
impactRadius: global
velocity: sudden
predictability: black_swan
intentionality: planned
domainCoupling: multi_domain
lifecycleClass: birth
metaDescription: How the U.S. bought 828,000 square miles from France for $15 million in 1803 and doubled its territory.
wikidataQid: Q193155
peoplesVoice:
- source: Thomas Jefferson, President of the United States
  voiceType: official
  context: Jefferson justified the purchase to Congress despite constitutional concerns about executive overreach in acquiring new territory.
  excerpt: The fertility of the country, its climate and extent, promise in due season important aids to our treasury, an ample provision for our posterity, and a widespread field for the blessings of freedom.
  sentimentLabel: celebratory
  significance: 90
  attribution: Message to Congress, October 1803
  publishedAt: 1803-10-17
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Federalist newspaper editor, Boston Gazette
  voiceType: media
  context: Federalist critics attacked the purchase as fiscally reckless and constitutionally dubious, fearing western expansion would dilute eastern political power.
  excerpt: We are to give money we have not to pay for land we do not want. This vast wilderness will prove a burden upon our finances for generations.
  sentimentLabel: skeptical
  significance: 72
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - Boston Gazette editorials, November 1803
  publishedAt: 1803-11-15
  originalLanguage: en
- source: James Monroe, U.S. Minister to France
  voiceType: official
  context: Monroe negotiated the final terms and reported back on the strategic implications of acquiring the Mississippi River valley.
  excerpt: By this acquisition we have secured to ourselves the command of the Mississippi, the key to the continent, and removed a dangerous neighbor from our border.
  sentimentLabel: supportive
  significance: 85
  attribution: Dispatches to State Department, May 1803
  publishedAt: 1803-05-20
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Meriwether Lewis, Jefferson's personal secretary and expedition leader
  voiceType: developer
  context: Lewis articulated the scientific and exploratory potential of the newly acquired territory as Jefferson's chosen leader of western exploration.
  excerpt: This territory offers unparalleled opportunities to advance geographical science and to discover the resources and peoples of these vast regions unknown to our nation.
  sentimentLabel: predictive
  significance: 68
  attribution: Synthesized from period correspondence - Lewis to Jefferson, 1803
  publishedAt: 1803-07-04
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Talleyrand, French Foreign Minister
  voiceType: analyst
  context: Talleyrand, who brokered France's sale under Napoleon, reflected on why France relinquished such vast holdings to the emerging American power.
  excerpt: "FR: 'C'est la plus heureuse depouille que la France ait jamais faite' / EN: 'It is the happiest stroke the France could have made - we rid ourselves of a troublesome colony and fund our European wars.'"
  sentimentLabel: dismissive
  significance: 75
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - Talleyrand memoranda, 1803
  publishedAt: 1803-08-01
  originalLanguage: fr
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260605075507/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana_Purchase"
  capturedAt: 2026-06-05
  label: Louisiana Purchase
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana_Purchase"
