CuI tural Knowledge The louisiana purchase This term refers to a land deal made between US president Thomas Jefferson and Napoleon Bonaparte of France in 1803. Jefferson authorized the purchase of land from the Mississippi river westward to the rocky Mountains and from the Gulf of mexico northward to Canada for roughly s15 million. Though it was a great bargain, doubling the size of the us at the time and adding richly productive farmlands, the Louisiana Purchase was controversial because it was unclear that the president had the authority to make such a purchase without the approval of congress.The Louisiana Purchase This term refers to a land deal made between US president Thomas Jefferson and Napoleon Bonaparte of France in 1803. Jefferson authorized the purchase of land from the Mississippi River westward to the Rocky Mountains and from the Gulf of Mexico northward to Canada for roughly $15 million. Though it was a great bargain, doubling the size of the US at the time and adding richly productive farmlands, the Louisiana Purchase was controversial because it was unclear that the president had the authority to make such a purchase without the approval of Congress. Cultural Knowledge