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The '''Louisiana Purchase''' of 1803 was the transfer of the western half of the Mississippi Valley from Spain and France to the United States. It encompassed 900,000 square miles of fertile lands, inhabited by Indian tribes, a few thousand French settlers and a rapidly growing population of American frontiersmen. It represented the single most important territorial acquisition by the United States during its transcontinental development. It was purchased by President [[Thomas Jefferson]], who stretched the Constitution to do so. [[Napoleon]], the ruler of France was eager to sell it for $15,000,000; Spain had no choice in the matter. The Purchase contained most of what is now the west central section of the United States.

The '''Louisiana Purchase''' of 1803 was the transfer of the western half of the Mississippi Valley from Spain and France to the United States. It encompassed 900,000 square miles of fertile lands, inhabited by Indian tribes, a few thousand French settlers and a rapidly growing population of American frontiersmen. It represented the single most important territorial acquisition by the United States during its transcontinental development. It was negotiated by [[Robert R. Livingston]] and purchased by President [[Thomas Jefferson]], who stretched the Constitution to do so. [[Napoleon]], the ruler of France was eager to sell it for $15,000,000; Spain had no choice in the matter. The Purchase contained most of what is now the west central section of the United States.

==Background==

==Background==