AllMovie

With the purchase of over 800,000 square miles west of the Mississippi River on April 30, 1803, President Thomas Jefferson spent $15 Million in procuring over twenty-three per-cent of the current U.S. territory. With the unlikely events leading up to the monumental deal in large the result of closed-door bargaining, strange mishap, and the active intervention of numerous eccentric proponents, The Louisiana Purchase laid the groundwork for European influence within North America while simultaneously hastening the ultimate downfall of Napoleon. In this documentary, filmmakers from The History Channel explore the origins of and controversies surrounding the Louisiana Purchase while never losing sight of the historical implications surrounding the landmark deal.