Abstract
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>This book reframes the Louisiana Purchase as an agreement that authorizes the United States to negotiate Native American land acquisition rather than a simple territorial transfer from France. It explains that the Purchase initiates the US-Indian Treaty System, which generates more than two hundred Native American cessions and ultimately cost billions of dollars and causes profound cultural loss. The book situates the transaction within a broader history of European imperial rivalry, showing how Louisiana moves between France and Spain before emerging as a strategic asset for the United States. It argues that financial pressures and geopolitical calculations—rather than direct knowledge of the territory—shape the decisions of the imperial leaders who determine the region’s fate. Finally, the book demonstrates how the Purchase exemplifies enduring patterns of territorial ambition in American politics and clarifies its significance in both national and global history.</jats:p>