| Territory of Louisiana | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Organized incorporated territory of United States | |||||||||
| 1805–1812 | |||||||||
.svg) | |||||||||
 Map of the Territory of Louisiana | |||||||||
| Capital | St. Louis | ||||||||
| Government | |||||||||
| • Type | Organized incorporated territory | ||||||||
| Governor | |||||||||
• 1805–1807 | James Wilkinson | ||||||||
• 1807–1809 | Meriwether Lewis | ||||||||
• 1810–1812 | Benjamin Howard | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
• Established | 4 July 1805 | ||||||||
• RenamedTerritory of Missouri | 4 June 1812 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
TheLouisiana Territory, officially theTerritory of Louisiana, was anorganized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1805,[1] until June 4, 1812, when it was renamed theMissouri Territory. The territory was formed out of theDistrict of Louisiana, which consisted of the portion of theLouisiana Purchase north of the33rd parallel (which is now theArkansas–Louisianastate line).
TheEighth 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,"[2] which established theTerritory of Orleans and theDistrict of Louisiana asorganized incorporated U.S. territories. With regard to the District of Louisiana, thisorganic act, which went into effect on October 1, 1804, detailed the authority of the governor and judges of theIndiana Territory to provide temporary civil jurisdiction over the expansive region.
On March 3, 1805,Congress passed legislation changing the District of Louisiana into the Louisiana Territory, effective July 4, 1805.[3]
The Louisiana Territory included all of the land acquired by the United States in theLouisiana Purchase north of the33rd parallel. The eastern boundary of the purchase, theMississippi 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 theBritish territory ofRupert's Land was established by theTreaty of 1818, and the western boundary with theSpanish viceroyalty ofNew Spain was defined by theAdams–Onís Treaty of 1819.
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 theOsage Nation.[citation needed]
In the1810 United States census, six counties in the Louisiana Territory, which included five counties in present-dayMissouri and one county in present-dayArkansas, reported the following population counts:[4][5]
| Rank | County | Population |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | St. Louis | 5,667 |
| 2 | Ste. Genevieve | 4,620 |
| 3 | Cape Girardeau | 3,888 |
| 4 | St. Charles | 3,505 |
| 5 | New Madrid | 2,103 |
| 6 | Arkansas | 1,062 |
| Louisiana Territory | 20,845 |
The territorialcapital wasSt. Louis.
On March 11, 1805, PresidentThomas Jefferson appointed Gen.James Wilkinson as the first governor of the Territory of Louisiana.[6]Wilkinson concurrently held the position ofSenior Officer of the United States Army.Meriwether Lewis (1807–1809) served as the 2nd andWilliam Clark (1813–1820) served as the 4th, and final, territorial governor.[citation needed]
On June 4, 1812, theTwelfth U.S. Congress enacted legislation which renamed Louisiana Territory asMissouri Territory, in order to avoid confusion with the recently admittedState ofLouisiana.[7]
The areas of the Louisiana Territory and Orleans Territory now cover severalU.S. states, from theGulf of Mexico to the border ofCanada.
U.S. states once part of Louisiana territory include:
Louisiana
Arkansas
Colorado
Iowa
Kansas
Minnesota (part)
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
North Dakota
Oklahoma
South Dakota
Texas
Wyoming
New MexicoCanadian provinces once part of Louisiana territory include:
