The Louisiana Purchase

In 1803, the United States bought a huge piece of land from France. This was called the Louisiana Purchase. It doubled the size of America. President Thomas Jefferson made the deal. The land cost only 15 million dollars, which was cheap even back then.

A Big Deal

France needed money for its wars, so it sold the land to America. The land stretched from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains. It covered parts of 15 future U.S. states. This was one of the biggest land deals in history.

A portrait of Thomas Jefferson, who bought huge new land for America.
A portrait of Thomas Jefferson, who bought huge new land for America. (Rembrandt Peale / Wikimedia Commons)

Lewis and Clark

Jefferson sent two explorers to see the new land. Their names were Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. They traveled for over two years. A Native American woman named Sacagawea helped them. They mapped rivers, mountains, and found new plants and animals.

Fun Facts

  • The Louisiana Purchase cost about 3 cents per acre.
  • Sacagawea was only about 16 years old when she helped Lewis and Clark.
  • The purchase added 828,000 square miles to the United States.

Did You Know?

Native American tribes had lived on the Louisiana Purchase land for thousands of years before it was sold.