The Louisiana Purchase has been called, “The Greatest Real Estate Deal in History.” The deal included about one-third of what is now the United States. The young country doubled the size of their country for a very low price. This deal changed the size of the United States, took away the threat of war, and changed the power of the American President.
The Louisiana Purchase was not even in the original plans of the United States. Thomas Jefferson sent James Monroe and Robert Livingston to buy the port of New Orleans from Napoleon. Monroe and Livingston offered him ten million dollars and Napoleon not only accepted, but offered the rest of the Louisiana Territory for just five million dollars more. The United States agreed to the offer and overnight doubled the size of the country. For fifteen million dollars they added five-hundred and thirty million acres of land to the country. However, this was still too steep of a price. The United States borrowed money at six percent interest from British banks which raised the total cost to twenty-three million dollars.
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At that time France was very powerful and owned a lot of land in North America. More importantly, they owned the New Orleans port which was along the Mississippi River. This port was important for navigation and trade. By purchasing this land from France, Napoleon’s army had no place to go to invade the United States. This deal changed America’s future and added power to the presidency. Title?
Many aspects of American history would not have occurred if this deal had not happened. Some historians propose that North America would be split into separate countries and look much like Europe. The deal also added power to the presidency. Before the deal,