Louisiana Purchase

In 1802 President Thomas Jefferson discovered that Spain had ceded to France the area between the Mississippi Valley and the Rocky Mountains and between Canada and the Gulf of Mexico. Jefferson disliked the idea of Napoleon controlling this area and immediately began negotiations for buying the territory. Needing money to fight a war against Britain and decided to sell the land for $15,000,000. This doubled the area of the United States.

Map of the United States overlapped with territory bought in the Louisiana Purchase (in white)
Map of the United States overlapped with territory bought in the Louisiana Purchase (in white)