Which 1803 purchase from France nearly doubled the territory of the United States?

The Louisiana Purchase was the 1803 purchase from France that nearly doubled the territory of the United States.

The United States acquired approximately 828,000 square miles of land from France for $15 million. The transaction covered the Mississippi River basin west of the river, although the exact boundaries were initially unclear.

President Thomas Jefferson authorized the purchase, and the agreement was signed on April 30, 1803. The United States formally took possession later that year. The acquisition strengthened control of the Mississippi River and the port of New Orleans while opening a vast area to later U.S. expansion.

The Louisiana Purchase is often confused with the Alaska Purchase, which transferred Alaska from Russia to the United States in 1867. The Gadsden Purchase was a much smaller acquisition from Mexico in 1853.