The Louisiana Purchase Treaty

Robert Livingston and James Monroe closed on the sweetest real estate deal of the millennium when they signed the Louisiana Purchase Treaty in Paris on April 30, 1803. They were authorized to pay France up to $10 million for the port of New Orleans and the Floridas. When offered the entire territory of Louisiana—an area larger than Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Portugal combined—the American negotiators swiftly agreed to a price of $15 million.

Read the rest of this story and see interactive images of the treaty at ourdocuments.gov. While you are there, stick around and learn about some of the other 100 milestone documents of American history.