French resources were spread thin already, and the Louisiana Territory being an Ocean away did not help either. When Napoleon heard that the United States population was growing rapidly, he knew it was only a matter of time before the Americans would start spilling over into the French territory, and there was little that he could do to stop them. A successful uprising in Haiti, formerly controlled by France, was the final event that convinced Napoleon to re-evaluate his priorities and tactics he would use to maintain the Empire that he had worked so hard to build. .
.
Napoleon decided to focus his resources on dominating Europe, and to cut his losses for the territories in North America. By selling the Louisiana territory not only would Napoleon have one less region to worry about and be able to strengthen his forces elsewhere, he would also be quickly acquiring money, which was exactly what he needed to finance his endeavors in Europe. The land that Napoleon would sell to the United States, in what is known as the Louisiana Purchase, was 828,000 square miles. It later would become all or part of 15 of the United States and two Canadian provinces. The land covered all or part of the following states: Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Minnesota west of the Mississippi, most of North and South Dakota, northeastern New Mexico, northern Texas, part of Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and Louisiana. Altogether, the Louisiana Purchase covered land that is now about 23% of the United States. The United States paid France $11,250,000 for the land, in addition to canceling $3,750,000 in war debts that the French owed the United States. The total cost of the land came out to be $15 million. .
.
This was an incredible deal for the United States; however, it did come with some complications. Thomas Jefferson knew that if he did not act quickly, Napoleon would take the deal off the table and France would become a military threat to the United States.
