Which Country Sold the Largest Land Tract West of the Mississippi to the US? France.

France sold the **Louisiana Territory** to the United States in **1803** — the **Louisiana Purchase**.

The Deal

• Area: ~2,140,000 km² (828,000 sq mi) — **doubled US size**.
• Price: $15 million (≈ $375M today) — **~3¢/acre**.
• Negotiators: Robert Livingston, James Madison (US); François Barbé-Marbois (France).
• Signed: April 30, 1803. Ratified: Oct 1803. Transfer: Dec 20, 1803 (New Orleans).

What It Included

All or part of **15 present US states**: Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota (west of Mississippi), North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado (east of Rockies), New Mexico (east of Rockies), Texas (small NE tip).

Why France Sold

• Napoleon needed funds for European wars.
• Haitian Revolution destroyed French Caribbean sugar economy — Louisiana lost strategic value (food source for colonies).
• British naval dominance made defense impossible.
• Prevented US-British alliance; kept Britain out of Mississippi.

Other Large US Land Acquisitions

• **Mexico:** Mexican Cession (1848) — 1.36M km² (CA, NV, UT, AZ, NM, CO, WY).
• **UK:** Oregon Treaty (1846) — 700K km² (WA, OR, ID, MT, WY).
• **Spain:** Florida (1819) — 170K km².
• **Russia:** Alaska (1867) — 1.7M km² (but not contiguous, not "west of Mississippi" in same sense).

Louisiana Purchase remains the **largest single peaceful land acquisition** in US history — from France.