Fifteen million dollars is the original amount spent by the U.S. to France for The Louisiana Purchase, and by today's standards, the price of the expansive territory is still considered a steal.

America has expanded its territory through land purchases more than most countries. The Louisiana Purchase in 1803 involved France transferring ownership of about 828,000 square miles of territory ...

The soldiers from Ft. Stoddert, Louisiana Territory, captured the fugitive Aaron Burr on a February morning in 1807, on a muddy road near the hamlet of Wakefield. Burr's fall from grace seemed total.