The Louisiana Purchase

Published in celebration of the Purchase's bicentennial, this resource offers a multifaceted view of a watershed American event.

In one easy-access resource, The Louisiana Purchase brings together the work of over 100 experts covering historical figures, relevant legal and historical concepts, states that formed in the new territory, frontier outposts, and the Native Americans uprooted by expansion westward. The book examines every aspect and consequence of Thomas Jefferson's momentous transaction: the largest real estate deal in American history.

Readers will learn how the purchase made Manifest Destiny really seem like destiny; how it sparked the rise of America's urban industrial society and inflamed passions over the expansion of slavery; and how it triggered tragic conflicts between the government and Native Americans as well as immeasurable environmental damage. Ideal for students, historians, and public and private libraries, the Encyclopedia is the most comprehensive reference ever compiled on an event so central to the American experience that it seems to lie at the heart of everything triumphant and tragic in our history.

• 300 signed, A–Z essays, accompanied by an introduction placing the Louisiana Purchase in the context of American history
• Lavishly illustrated including line drawings, photographs such as the opening ceremonies of the 1904 Louisiana Purchase International Exposition, and key figures such as Thomas Paine and James Madison
• 100+ contributors, including well-known experts in the field
• Six maps, 49 pertinent historical documents, a chronology, and an extensive bibliography