The Territory of Louisiana or Louisiana Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1805, until June 4, 1812, when it was renamed the Missouri Territory. The territory was formed out of the District of Louisiana, which consisted of the portion of the

Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase () was the acquisition of the Louisiana (New France), territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. This consisted of most of the land in the Mississippi River#Watershed, Mississipp ...

north of the 33rd parallel (which is now the

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

–

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

state line).

Background

The Eighth Congress of the United States on March 26, 1804, passed legislation entitled "An act erecting Louisiana into two territories, and providing for the temporary government thereof," which established the

Territory of Orleans The Territory of Orleans or Orleans Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States, organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from October 1, 1804, until April 30, 1812, when it was Admission to ...

and the District of Louisiana as organized incorporated U.S. territories. With regard to the District of Louisiana, this organic act, which went into effect on October 1, 1804, detailed the authority of the governor and judges of the Indiana Territory to provide temporary civil jurisdiction over the expansive region.

Establishment

On March 3, 1805,

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

passed legislation changing the District of Louisiana into the Louisiana Territory, effective July 4, 1805.

Boundaries

The Louisiana Territory included all of the land acquired by the United States in the

north of the 33rd parallel. The eastern boundary of the purchase, the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

, functioned as the territory's eastern limit. Its northern and western boundaries, however, were indefinite, and remained so throughout its existence. The northern boundary with the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

territory of

Rupert's Land Rupert's Land (), or Prince Rupert's Land (), was a territory in British North America which comprised the Hudson Bay drainage basin. The right to "sole trade and commerce" over Rupert's Land was granted to Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), based a ...

was established by the Treaty of 1818, and the western boundary with the Spanish viceroyalty of

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...

was defined by the Adams–Onís Treaty of 1819.

Subdivisions

The Louisiana Territory had five subdivisions: St. Louis District, St. Charles District, Ste. Genevieve District, Cape Girardeau District, and New Madrid District. In 1806, the territorial legislature created the District of Arkansas from lands ceded by the Osage Nation. In the 1810 United States census, six counties in the Louisiana Territory, which included five counties in present-day

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

and one county in present-day

, reported the following population counts:

Government

The territorial capital was St. Louis. On March 11, 1805, President

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...

appointed Gen. James Wilkinson as the first governor of the Territory of Louisiana. Wilkinson concurrently held the position of Senior Officer of the United States Army.

Meriwether Lewis Meriwether Lewis (August 18, 1774 – October 11, 1809) was an American explorer, soldier, politician, and public administrator, best known for his role as the leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery, with ...

(1807–1809) served as the 2nd and William Clark (1813–1820) served as the 4th, and final, territorial governor.

Renaming

On June 4, 1812, the Twelfth U.S. Congress enacted legislation which renamed Louisiana Territory as Missouri Territory, in order to avoid confusion with the recently admitted

State State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

."An Act providing for the government of the territory of Missouri"
''United States Statutes at Large''. Twelfth Congress, Session I, Chapter 95, June 4, 1812, pp. 742–747. From Library of Congress,

'. (accessed December 14, 2008)

Current States

The areas of the '' Louisiana Territory '' and '' Orleans Territory '' now cover several U.S. states, from the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

to the border of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. U.S. states once part of Louisiana territory include: * * * * * * (part) * * * * * * * * * Canadian provinces once part of Louisiana territory include: * *

References

External links

Louisiana: European Explorations and the Louisiana Purchase
from the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...