The Louisiana Purchase
By: Zach Gollinger
What is The Louisiana Purchase?
In 1803 President Thomas Jefferson decided to buy the Louisiana Territory from France. He bought 800,000 square miles of land that made up 15 of the states that we know today. It cost the colonists 15 million dollars or about 3 cents an acre.
The green is the land that was purchased by the Americans
The green land was bought by the USA
The light pink is America, the yellow is owned by Spain and the darker pink is the Louisiana Puchase.
Why did the American colonists want the land from the Louisiana Purchase?
Thomas Jefferson bought the land because he wanted to expand the United States. He wanted to have control of the port of New Orleans and he didnt want to the Spanish to have control of it and prohibit the Americans from using it. Also he wanted to expand the American peoples land to establish them as a world super power.