<Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> Today part of </Td> <Td> United States Canada </Td> </Tr> <P> The Louisiana Purchase (French: Vente de la Louisiane "Sale of Louisiana") was the acquisition of the Louisiana territory (828,000 square miles or 2.14 million km2) by the United States from France in 1803 . The U.S. paid fifty million francs ($11,250,000 USD) and a cancellation of debts worth eighteen million francs ($3,750,000 USD) for a total of sixty - eight million francs ($15,000,000 USD, or around $250 m in 2016 dollars). The Louisiana territory included land from fifteen present U.S. states and two Canadian provinces . The territory contained land that forms Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska; the portion of Minnesota west of the Mississippi River; a large portion of North Dakota; a large portion of South Dakota; the northeastern section of New Mexico; the northern portion of Texas; the area of Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado east of the Continental Divide; Louisiana west of the Mississippi River (plus New Orleans); and small portions of land within the present Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan . Its non-native population was around 60,000 inhabitants, of whom half were African slaves . </P> <P> The Kingdom of France controlled the Louisiana territory from 1699 until it was ceded to Spain in 1762 . In 1800, Napoleon, then the First Consul of the French Republic, hoping to re-establish an empire in North America, regained ownership of Louisiana . However, France's failure to put down the revolt in Saint - Domingue, coupled with the prospect of renewed warfare with the United Kingdom, prompted Napoleon to sell Louisiana to the United States . The Americans originally sought to purchase only the port city of New Orleans and its adjacent coastal lands, but quickly accepted the bargain . The Louisiana Purchase occurred during the term of the third President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson . Before the purchase was finalized, the decision faced Federalist Party opposition; they argued that it was unconstitutional to acquire any territory . Jefferson agreed that the U.S. Constitution did not contain explicit provisions for acquiring territory, but he asserted that his constitutional power to negotiate treaties was sufficient . </P> <P> Throughout the second half of the 18th century, Louisiana was a pawn on the chessboard of European politics . It was controlled by the French, who had a few small settlements along the Mississippi and other main rivers . Following French defeat in the Seven Years' War, Spain gained control of the territory west of the Mississippi and the British the territory to the east of the river . </P>

Who sold the louisiana purchase to the us