California Subject Examinations for Teachers (CSET) 1 MCS and CR Practice Test

The key impact is the nation’s geographic expansion. The Louisiana Purchase in 1803 brought a vast new expanse of land into U.S. hands—about 828,000 square miles from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains. This dramatically increased the country’s territory, creating room for westward settlement, growth of agriculture and towns, and eventual new states. That immediate consequence—expanding the country’s size and reach—defines what most people mean by the major effect of this purchase. (What followed, such as conflicts with Native peoples or debates over slavery, arose after the land was opened to settlement, but the central, visible outcome was the expansion of the nation.)