Grace, Chloe, Zina & Kennedy
- The Louisiana Purchase refers to the 530,000,000 acres of territory in North America that the United States purchased from France in 1803 for US $15 million.
About the Event
Beginning in the 17th century, France explored the Mississippi River With the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the United States purchased approximately 828,000,000 square miles of territory from France, thereby doubling the size of the young republic.
By the middle of the 18th century, France controlled more of the present-day United States than any other European power: from New Orleans northeast to the Great Lakes and northwest to modern-day Montana.
Significance of the Westward Expansion
The significance of the Westward Expansion allowed the US to grow. This helped farmers because it gave them more land to farm and grow crops. It also allowed the US to make more money off of taxes.
The Westward Expansion was significant because more people moved in toward the west, and built homes, and started shops and stores.
Louisiana Purchase's Role in the Westward Expansion
Louisiana Purchase had a pretty big role in the Westward Expansion. The Louisiana Purchase started at Montana and spread all the way down to Louisiana. Before it became the Louisiana Purchase, the territory was considered the French Territory. This means it was not a part of the US.
Now that we bought the territory, it is apart of the US. We can now settle on it, live here, expand with stores, shops, and just to develop.
How Things Would Be Different Without the Louisiana Purchase
Things would be a lot different without the Louisiana Purchase. If the Louisiana Purchase never would have happened, we would have a total of only 44 whole states, and then about half of 6 states.
Without the Louisiana Purchase, the US would be a lot smaller. If the US is smaller, this means people would have less land to use for farming, to build homes, etc. The purchase added 827,000 square miles and doubled the size of the US.
We also would not have been able to experience the California Gold Rush if we wouldn't have completed the Louisiana Purchase.