apr 30, 1803 - Signing of the Louisiana Purchase Treaty
Description:
Acting ironically outside what he believed were the constitutional powers of the presidency, Thomas Jefferson paid 68 million francs (about $15 million USD) to Napoleon and the Republic of France, to nullify American debts and purchase the Louisiana Territory, which doubled the size of the United States. Napoleon's eagerness to sell his American claims after the Haitian Revolution led him to offer the territory at a bargain. Being the first step towards westward expansion, sectionalism and rivalry developed over whether any new territories would carry the peculiar institution of slavery westward.Added to timeline:
Date:
apr 30, 1803
Now
~ 223 years ago