The Louisiana Purchase 1803. Thomas Jefferson proposed and bought the land of the Louisiana Purchase from Napoleon Bonaparte for $15 million! Big price! But when you think about it, it was a pretty big chunk of land. Nearly doubled our size! (at the time) and Napoleon agreed because he needed money to help fight wars against Britain and France. FYI, it was also the territory Lewis and Clark explored!

Louisiana Purchase 1803

The U.S. then, with the Louisiana purchase added. (Before the Florida/Spanish cession) ------------------------->

Eventually, after enough exploring Lewis and Clark eventually reached the Pacific Ocean in 1805. Their exploring was beneficial for showing us what resources and land was in the uncharted territory that would be beneficial to own.