This is the 218th anniversary of the U.S. Senate’s ratification of a treaty with France that ratified the Louisiana Purchase. So, it could be said that October 20th is our birthday!
On October 20, 1803, Senators voted 24 to 7 in favor of ratification of the treaty.
The deal had been struck on April 30th of 1803 by James Monroe and Robert Livingston with the head of the French Treasury. It took seven months for the U. S. Senate to ratify that sale.
It wasn’t until 1812 that the state of Louisiana was admitted to the Union.
The Journal found this old map of the Louisiana Purchase territory on the Library of Congress website.
