December 20, 1803

Like so much of our history, the standard narrative we learned about the Louisiana Purchase is so understated as to be, at best, deceitful, at worst, insidious. It was on this date in 1803 when representatives from France and the United States met at the Cabildo, (the name of a Spanish town hall), in New Orleans to officially transfer to the United States rights to the Louisiana Purchase. As you might guess, not present at that diplomatic ceremony were representatives of those who actually lived, farmed, traded, and hunted on the lands drained by the Mississippi River to its west.

Innocuously couched in our national pageant of westward expansion, the tale of the Louisiana Purchase quickly moves to Lewis & Clark’s phenomenal exploration. Reliably omitted are the details of how Napoleonic France came to possess the rights to this massive area, why the agreement was signed in a structure with a distinctly Spanish name, and how a Haitian revolt by free and enslaved persons of African-decent had widespread implications for America’s future.

To learn (much) more about the background of the significance of today’s date in 1803, please explore the links above.