The Louisiana Purchase
Cynthia Pullins
Anthem College Online
August 25, 2013

The Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase is considered the greatest real estate deal in history. The Louisiana Purchase more than doubled the size of the United States, and is the most significant event in the westward expansion of the United States. The Louisiana Purchase changed what the United States had been and had a profound effect on what the United States would become, through Spain’s secret transfer of the territory back to France, President Jefferson gamble and Congress’s ratification of a Treaty.
During the years between 1686 and 1800, the French and Spanish colonized and governed the lower Mississippi River Valley. From 1699 to 1762 France controlled the land; in 1762 France gave the land to the Spain after losing the Seven Years War, the French wanted to keep from losing the colony to Britain, so King Louis of France gave the land to his cousin King Carlos II of Spain. Both the French and the Spanish knew how important it was to Americans to cross in to their territory to obtain navigation rights on the Mississippi River, the river was the chief trading channel for goods shipped among the states. It was also important to the United States to trade in New Orleans and to cultivate the economic, political and social possibilities by having access to the Mississippi River Valley (The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture, 2011).
America felt comfortable with the way things were going between Spain and the United States since there was no friction over the rights to navigate the Mississippi and the trading rights in New Orleans (U.S. Department of State, 2013). President Jefferson felt that the expansion westward would not be a restricted one. But the situation was in jeopardy Spain felt threatened by the growing power of the United States in North America.