View source for Louisiana Territory

{{short description|Territory of the United States of America from 1805 to 1812}}
{{About||the 1953 film|Louisiana Territory (film)}}
{{distinguish|text=the [[Territory of Orleans]], the organized incorporated territory that became the State of Louisiana in 1812}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2023}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2023}}
{{Infobox Former subdivision
| native_name            = 
| conventional_long_name = Territory of Louisiana
| common_name            = Louisiana Territory
| nation                 = United States
| subdivision            = [[Organized incorporated territories of the United States|Organized incorporated territory]]
| event_start            = 
| date_start             = July 4
| year_start             = 1805
| event_end              = Renamed [[Territory of Missouri]]
| date_end               = June 4
| year_end               = 1812
| event_pre              = 
| date_pre               = 
| p1                     = District of Louisiana
| flag_p1                = Star-Spangled Banner flag.svg
| p2                     = 
| flag_p2                = 
| p3                     = 
| flag_p3                = 
| s1                     = Missouri Territory
| flag_s1                = Star-Spangled Banner flag.svg
| s2                     = 
| flag_s2                = Flag of Louisiana.svg
| s3                     = 
| flag_s3                = 
| image_flag             = Star-Spangled Banner flag.svg
| flag_type              = Flag of the United States
| flag                   = Flag of the United States#Historical progression of designs
| image_coat             = 
| symbol                 = 
| symbol_type            = 
| image_map              = United States 1805-07-1809.png
| image_map_caption      = Map of the Territory of Louisiana|
| stat_area1             = 
| stat_pop1              = 
| stat_year1             = 
| stat_area2             = 
| stat_pop2              = 
| stat_year2             = |
| capital                = [[St. Louis]]
| government_type        = Organized incorporated territory
| title_leader           = Governor
| leader1                = [[James Wilkinson]]
| year_leader1           = 1805–1807
| leader2                = [[Meriwether Lewis]]
| year_leader2           = 1807–1809
| leader3                = [[Benjamin Howard (Missouri politician)|Benjamin Howard]]
| year_leader3           = 1810–1812
| title_deputy           = 
| deputy1                = 
| year_deputy1           = 
}}

The '''Louisiana Territory''', officially the '''Territory of Louisiana''', was an [[organized incorporated territory of the United States]] that existed from July 4, 1805,<ref>{{USStat|2|331}}</ref> 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]] north of the [[33rd parallel north|33rd parallel]] (which is now the [[Arkansas]]–[[Louisiana]] [[U.S. state|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,"<ref>[http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llsl&fileName=002/llsl002.db&recNum=320 "An act erecting Louisiana into two territories, and providing for the temporary government thereof"]. ''United States Statutes at Large''. Eighth Congress, Session I, Chapter 38, March 26, 1804, pp. 283–289. From Library of Congress, ''[http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lawhome.html A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774–1875]''. (accessed December 14, 2008)</ref> which established the [[Territory of Orleans]] and the [[District of Louisiana]] as [[Organized incorporated territories of the United States|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, [[United States Congress|Congress]] passed legislation changing the District of Louisiana into the Louisiana Territory, effective July 4, 1805.<ref>[http://rs6.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llsl&fileName=002/llsl002.db&recNum=368 "An Act further providing for the government of the district of Louisiana"]. ''United States Statutes at Large''.  Eighth Congress, Session II, Chapter 31, March 3, 1805, pp. 331–332. From Library of Congress, ''[http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lawhome.html A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774–1875]''. (accessed December 14, 2008)</ref>

==Boundaries==
The Louisiana Territory included all of the land acquired by the United States in the [[Louisiana Purchase]] north of the [[33rd parallel north|33rd parallel]]. The eastern boundary of the purchase, the [[Mississippi River]], 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 [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|British]] territory of [[Rupert's Land]] was established by the [[Treaty of 1818]], and the western boundary with the [[Spain|Spanish]] viceroyalty of [[New Spain]] 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]].{{Citation needed|date=December 2008}}

In the [[1810 United States census]], six counties in the Louisiana Territory, which included five counties in present-day [[Missouri]] and one county in present-day [[Arkansas]], reported the following population counts:<ref>{{cite report|editor-last=Forstall|editor-first=Richard L.|title=Population of the States and Counties of the United States: 1790–1990|page=17|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1990/population-of-states-and-counties-us-1790-1990/population-of-states-and-counties-of-the-united-states-1790-1990.pdf|access-date=May 18, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite report|editor-last=Forstall|editor-first=Richard L.|title=Population of the States and Counties of the United States: 1790–1990|pages=95–97|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1990/population-of-states-and-counties-us-1790-1990/population-of-states-and-counties-of-the-united-states-1790-1990.pdf|access-date=May 18, 2020}}</ref>
{| class=wikitable
! Rank
! County
! Population
|-
|1
|[[St. Louis County, Missouri|St. Louis]]
|5,667
|-
|2
|[[Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri|Ste. Genevieve]]
|4,620
|-
|3
|[[Cape Girardeau County, Missouri|Cape Girardeau]]
|3,888
|-
|4
|[[St. Charles County, Missouri|St. Charles]]
|3,505
|-
|5
|[[New Madrid County, Missouri|New Madrid]]
|2,103
|-
|6
|[[Arkansas County, Arkansas|Arkansas]]
|1,062
|-
|
|Louisiana Territory
|20,845
|-
|}

==Government==
The territorial [[Capital city|capital]] was [[St. Louis]].

On March 11, 1805, President [[Thomas Jefferson]] appointed Gen. [[James Wilkinson]] as the first governor of the Territory of Louisiana.<ref>[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.31210004002810&view=1up&seq=118&q1=governor "Commission of James Wilkinson as Governor"]. Carter, Clarence Edwin, compiler and editor. ''Territorial Papers of the United States.'' Vol. XIII (''The Territory of Louisiana–Missouri, 1803–1806''), pp. 98–99.</ref>
Wilkinson concurrently held the position of [[Senior Officer of the United States Army]]. [[Meriwether Lewis]] (1807–1809) served as the 2nd and [[William Clark (explorer)|William Clark]] (1813–1820) served as the 4th, and final, territorial governor.{{Citation needed|date=December 2008}}

==Renaming==
On June 4, 1812, the [[12th United States Congress|Twelfth U.S. Congress]] enacted legislation which renamed Louisiana Territory as [[Missouri Territory]], in order to avoid confusion with the recently admitted [[U.S. state|State]] of [[Louisiana]].<ref>[http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llsl&fileName=002/llsl002.db&recNum=780 "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, ''[http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lawhome.html A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774–1875]''. (accessed December 14, 2008)</ref>

==Current States==
The areas of the '' Louisiana Territory '' and '' Orleans Territory '' now cover several [[U.S. state|U.S. states]], from the [[Gulf of Mexico]] to the border of [[Canada]].

U.S. states once part of Louisiana territory include:
*{{flag|Louisiana}}
*{{flag|Arkansas}}
*{{flag|Colorado}}
*{{flag|Iowa}}
*{{flag|Kansas}}
*{{flag|Minnesota}} (part)
*{{flag|Missouri}}
*{{flag|Montana}}
*{{flag|Nebraska}}
*{{flag|North Dakota}}
*{{flag|Oklahoma}}
*{{flag|South Dakota}}
*{{flag|Texas}}
*{{flag|Wyoming}}
*{{flag|New Mexico}}

Canadian provinces once part of Louisiana territory include:
*{{flag|Alberta}}
*{{flag|Saskatchewan}}
[[Image:Louisiana Purchase.jpg|thumb|center|550px]]

== See also ==

* [[Historic regions of the United States]]
* [[Territorial evolution of the United States]]
* [[Lewis and Clark Expedition]]
* [[Timeline of the Lewis and Clark Expedition]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://www.loc.gov/collection/louisiana-european-explorations-and-the-louisiana-purchase/about-this-collection/  Louisiana: European Explorations and the Louisiana Purchase] from the [[Library of Congress]]

{{Territories of the United States}}
{{Louisiana}}
{{Missouri}}
{{Portal bar|Modern history|United States}}

[[Category:Louisiana Territory| ]]
[[Category:Former organized territories of the United States|L]]
[[Category:Great Plains]]
[[Category:Midwestern United States]]
[[Category:1805 establishments in the United States]]
[[Category:Pre-statehood history of Arkansas]]
[[Category:Pre-statehood history of Iowa]]
[[Category:Pre-statehood history of Kansas]]
[[Category:Pre-statehood history of Louisiana]]
[[Category:Pre-statehood history of Missouri]]
[[Category:Pre-statehood history of Montana]]
[[Category:Pre-statehood history of Nebraska]]
[[Category:Pre-statehood history of North Dakota]]
[[Category:Pre-statehood history of Oklahoma]]
[[Category:Pre-statehood history of South Dakota]]
[[Category:Pre-statehood history of Wyoming]]
[[Category:1800s in the United States]]
[[Category:1812 disestablishments in the United States]]