Which 1803 purchase from France approximately doubled the land area of the United States?

The Louisiana Purchase from France approximately doubled the land area of the United States in 1803.

President Thomas Jefferson’s administration negotiated the purchase with France, represented by Robert R. Livingston and James Monroe. The United States agreed to pay 60 million francs and assume claims by American citizens against France, for a total commonly described as about $15 million. The transfer was completed in December 1803.

The purchase covered roughly 828,000 square miles west of the Mississippi River, including land that later became all or part of fifteen U.S. states. It secured American control of the Mississippi River and the port of New Orleans, which were vital for trade and western settlement.

The deal is sometimes confused with the Alaska Purchase of 1867, which acquired Alaska from Russia, or the Gadsden Purchase of 1854, which added land from Mexico. The Louisiana Purchase remains one of the largest territorial acquisitions in U.S. history.