USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -On April 11, 1803, just days before Monroe’s arrival, Barbé-Marbois offered Livingston all of Louisiana for $15 million, which averages to less than three cents per acre (7¢/ha). The total of $15 million is equivalent to about $337 million in 2021 dollars, or 64 cents per acre.

Detailed explanation-2: -In 1803 the United States paid France $15 million for the Louisiana Territory–828, 000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River. The lands acquired stretched from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and from the Gulf of Mexico to the Canadian border.

Detailed explanation-3: -In this transaction with France, signed on April 30, 1803, the United States purchased 828, 000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River for $15 million.

Detailed explanation-4: -There were 222 land relinquishments from Indian communities to the U.S. government between 1804 and 1970. The final purchase price for these lands was no less than $2.6 billion ($8.5 billion in 2020), much higher than the $15 million the U.S. paid to France.

Detailed explanation-5: -On October 20, 1803, the Senate ratified a treaty with France, promoted by President Thomas Jefferson, that doubled the size of the United States. But was Jefferson empowered to make that $15 million deal under the Constitution? The Louisiana Purchase was a seminal moment for a new nation.