Identify the Main Idea and Topic of this passage. You must identify both i order to receive full points. The Louisiana Purchase proved to be one of the shrewdest business pacts in the entire history of the United States. The purchase doubled in the area of the country and provided
territory from which fourteen new states were created either wholly or in part. It also gave us control over the mouth of the Mississippi River and opened up the way to foreign trade. Prior to the purchase, the waterway had been blocked by the Spanish, probably with the
approval of Napoleon. The land that was bought was rich in timber, minerals, and natural resources of many kinds. Finally, the cost of the transaction was unbelievably low; the total of $15 million amounted to about four cents an acre.