Where did the Louisiana Purchase occur?

The Louisiana Purchase occurred in the central United States, where the United States, under the presidency of Thomas Jefferson, acquired approximately 828,000 square miles of land from France. The deal, which took place in 1803, included a vast area stretching from the Mississippi River in the east to the Rocky Mountains in the west, and from the Gulf of Mexico in the south to the Canadian border in the north. This land deal essentially doubled the size of the United States at the time.

The Louisiana Purchase is considered one of the most significant land acquisitions in American history. It included land that makes up all or part of 15 current U.S. states (Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, New Mexico, Texas, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and Louisiana) and even part of two Canadian provinces (Alberta and Saskatchewan). The purchase was negotiated by Robert Livingston and James Monroe for the United States and signed by Napoleon Bonaparte of France. The United States paid about $15 million for the land, which works out to less than three cents per acre. The acquisition was important because it secured American access to the Mississippi River and the port of New Orleans—both critical for trade at the time. Furthermore, the vast amount of land acquired provided a powerful impetus for westward expansion.