December 20
GOOD DEAL DAY
The United States finally took possession of the Louisiana Territories from France on this day in 1803. The treaty that France drew up, giving the Territories to the United States for $15 million, was actually dated April 30, 1803 and signed on May 2. It didn’t reach Washington until July 14. After much objection from Federalists and a bit of stretching of Constitutional Law, Congress ratified the treaty on October 25 with possession final on December 20.
The Louisiana Purchase effectively doubled the size of the existing U.S. With 827,987 square miles in the deal, that price translates to roughly $18 per square mile -- under 3 cents per acre.
The area was later made into 15 states and if that subdivision had not occurred, Louisiana would be the largest state in the Union (Alaska and Texas would easily fit inside the boundaries).
The following is the list of states that were created (or *partially created) from the Louisiana Purchase:
Arkansas, *Colorado, Iowa, *Kansas, Louisiana, *Minnesota, Missouri, *Montana, Nebraska, *New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, *Texas and *Wyoming.
3 cents ... now that’s really a good deal! Just imagine what one little acre of that territory would bring today!
Those Were the Days, the Today in History service from 440 International
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