On 20 December 1803, the French tricolour was lowered in New Orleans, symbolising the official transfer of the Louisiana Territory to the United States, a historic acquisition brokered for $15 million under the Louisiana Purchase.
This monumental transaction, which effectively doubled the size of the young American republic, marked the culmination of negotiations between France under Napoleon Bonaparte and the administration of President Thomas Jefferson, heralding an era of westward expansion and territorial growth for the United States.
