The Louisiana Purchase: The Grand Bargain and the Making of America (Pivotal Moments in American History)

A true pivotal moment in American history, the Louisiana Purchase redefined the boundaries of the United States and recharted the course of its history. The story behind it transcends borders The United States bought the Louisiana Territory from Napoleonic France in 1803, paying--so the story goes--a mere 15 million dollars, or "four cents an acre." The young nation more than doubled its size, absorbing the greater part of an entire continent in a single real estate transaction. This overlooks a critical feature of the purchase, however: the agreement signed by Thomas Jefferson did not grant the American republic the land; it merely allowed it to assume the authority to negotiate the acquisition of the land, which was still owned by Native Americans.