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"What a Deal!" When James Monroe and Robert Livingston went to France to buy New Orleans, they had no idea what they would end up bringing home to America. They were sure in for a big surprise! They bargained for a city, but French dictator Napoleon Bonaparte offered it all!
The $15 million dollar price tag for the 800,000 square miles of the Louisiana Territory worked out to about four cents per acre. It almost doubled the size of the United States. Can you imagine what that land costs today? That's why some people have called the 1803 Louisiana Purchase the greatest real estate deal in history! |
| The Year was 1803 . . . . . . |
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| January |
President Thomas Jefferson send James Monroe to France. Congress says he can spend $2 million to buy New Orleans and the Floridas. He and Robert Livingston start bargaining. |
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| March |
French dictator Napoleon Bonaparte wants to expand his empire in the West, and Spain secretly transfer Louisiana to France |
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| April |
Napoleon tells Foreign Minister Charles Muarice de Talleyrand to offer all of Louisiana to the United States. France and American negotiators finally agree on $15 million for the property. |
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| May |
Treaties are signed to seal the deal! |
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| July |
The U.S. Senate ratifies the treaty,even though some say the constitution does not allow the president to make a land purchase. |
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| October |
The United States finally receives news of the Louisiana Purchase on July 3rd. |
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| December |
On December 20, Louisiana is officially transferred to the United States, making this one of the first land transfers that did not involve a war. |
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