How large was the Louisiana Purchase, approximately, when the United States acquired it from France in 1803?

The Louisiana Purchase covered approximately 828,000 square miles when the United States acquired it from France in 1803.

The United States agreed to pay France $15 million for the territory. The agreement was signed in Paris on April 30, 1803, during the administration of President Thomas Jefferson, and the purchase nearly doubled the country’s size.

The land occupied much of the Mississippi River drainage basin west of the Mississippi River. Its boundaries were not perfectly defined, and the agreement later generated disputes with Spain over the western and southern limits. The territory eventually contributed land to numerous present-day states.

The purchase did not mean that France had settled or directly governed every part of the region. Many Native nations lived there and controlled their own communities and territories. The U.S. acquisition created a claim against other European powers, but subsequent treaties, wars, and federal policies shaped actual American control.