Western Movement

On April 12th, 1803, delegates of the United States and of France agreed that the United States bought the large region of French-owned lands west of the Mississippi River. The United States spent fifteen million on this land or 3 cents an acre. This was known as the Louisiana Purchase.
France had given this area to Spain first which was a fraction of the treaty fabricated to end the French and Indian war. In 1800, Napoleon Bonaparte surreptitiously planned to give the land back to France. The population in Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, and Tennessee grew while speculation went on as to who owned them. The Mississippi River was the main route for trade into the west because roads in the west barely existed. In 1795, Spaniards granted American traders the right to use the port for overseas shipment. When president Jefferson found out, he was afraid Napoleon might utilize it for personal motives. French were again at war with Great Britain. To avoid any conflict, Jefferson then took...