Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase of 1803 was a American acquirement from France of the formerly Spanish region Louisiana. When the secret agreement of 1801 was revealed , where Spain went back to Louisiana to France, excited the uneasiness in the United States both because Napoleon France was an aggressive power and because western settlers depended on the Mississippi River for commerce. In a letter to the American minister to France Robert R. Livingston, President stated that “The day that France takes possession of New Orleans...we must marry ourselves to the British fleet and the nation.” Late in 1802 the right of deposit at New Orleans,