Brief Summary
The Set-Up
The United States is about to double in size, thanks to a sweet real estate deal being offered up by the French Republic. All the land from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico and from the Rockies to the mighty Mississippi River could belong to the Americans, for the cool price of $15 mil. This heck of a deal is known as the Louisiana Purchase, and these documents lay out all the t's to be crossed and the i's to be dotted so that the property can change hands.
The Text
Ever read a super long and rambling book or essay and wondered about the author's ultimate point?
Good news, folks: that won't happen with the Louisiana Purchase.
The treaty is actually three separate documents, each with its own clearly laid-out purpose. And each of those documents is broken into distinct articles that address specific topics:
- The first treaty document covers the transition of Louisiana from French to American control and how each part of it is going to go.
- The second doc is all about how America is going to pay for its new backyard.
- The third is all about how France is going to pay back American citizens, to whom it owes money.
No stone is left unturned; no topic is left unaddressed.
This thing is better organized than Sara Berman's closet.
And as readers of said purchase documents, we certainly appreciate it.
TL;DR
America scores a sweet, like-new French colony at a bargain basement price.