Which territory did the United States buy from France in 1803?

The United States purchased the Louisiana Territory from France in 1803 through a deal known as the Louisiana Purchase. This acquisition was significant as it doubled the size of the United States at the time, adding approximately 828,000 square miles of territory. The purchase, negotiated by President Thomas Jefferson, provided the United States with vast land rich in resources and played a crucial role in the westward expansion of the nation.

The Louisiana Purchase included land that now makes up several states, such as Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and parts of Minnesota, New Mexico, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and Kansas. This expansion helped facilitate the idea of Manifest Destiny, which was the belief that the United States was meant to expand across the North American continent.

Other territories mentioned—Florida, Texas, and California—were obtained through different negotiations and conflicts in subsequent years. Florida was acquired in 1819, Texas was annexed in 1845 after it became an independent republic, and California was ceded to the U.S. as part of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, following the Mexican-American War. Thus, the Louisiana Territory stands out as the pivotal purchase made in 1803 that significantly shaped the