Louisiana Purchase
noun U.S. History.
a treaty signed with France in 1803 by which the U.S. purchased for $15,000,000 the land extending from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico.
the land included in this purchase.
British Dictionary definitions for louisiana purchase
Louisiana Purchase
noun
the large region of North America sold by Napoleon I to the US in 1803 for 15 million dollars: consists of the W part of the Mississippi basin. Area: about 2 292 150 sq km (885 000 sq miles)
Cultural definitions for louisiana purchase
Louisiana Purchase
The purchase by the United States from France of the huge Louisiana Territory in 1803. President Thomas Jefferson ordered the purchase negotiations, fearing that the French, then led by Napoleon, wanted to establish an empire in North America. The French had no such ambitions but were happy to exchange their vast landholdings for cash. The area that they sold, extending from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains, more than doubled the size of the United States.