Definition

1. Proper Noun:
   • A historical land acquisition: The "Louisiana Purchase" refers to the territory in the western United States purchased from France by the United States government in 1803 for approximately $15 million.
   • A specific geographical area: It names the vast region that extended from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada.

Usage Examples

• Proper Noun:
  • The Louisiana Purchase doubled the size of the United States overnight.
  • President Thomas Jefferson authorized the Louisiana Purchase.
  • Explorers Lewis and Clark were sent to map the new territory acquired through the Louisiana Purchase.

Advanced Usage

• "the purchase of Louisiana": A more formal or descriptive phrasing for the same event.
  • The diplomatic negotiations for the purchase of Louisiana were complex.
• Used attributively to describe related concepts (e.g., Louisiana Purchase treaty, Louisiana Purchase territory).
  • The Louisiana Purchase expedition faced many hardships.

Variants and Related Words

• Purchase (n): The act of buying something. In this context, it is part of the proper name for the specific historical event.
• Territory (n): An area of land under the jurisdiction of a ruler or state. This describes what was acquired.

Synonyms

• The acquisition of Louisiana: A direct synonym emphasizing the act of obtaining the territory.
• The 1803 land deal: A more general descriptive term focusing on the transaction and its date.

Related Phrases

• Manifest Destiny: The 19th-century doctrine that the expansion of the US throughout the American continents was both justified and inevitable. The Louisiana Purchase is often cited as a key early event enabling this expansion.
• Westward Expansion: The movement of American settlers and culture into the western territories of North America, greatly facilitated by the Louisiana Purchase.

Noun

1. territory in the western United States purchased from France in 1803 for $15 million; extends from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada