Louisiana Territory

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For the 1953 film, see Louisiana Territory (film).

Not to be confused with the Territory of Orleans, the organized incorporated territory that became the
State of Louisiana in 1812.

Territory of Louisiana

Organized incorporated territory of the United States

1805[1]–1812

Flag of Louisiana Territory

Flag of the United States

United States 1805-07-1809.png

Map of the Territory of Louisiana

Capital St. Louis

History

Government

• Type Organized incorporated territory

Governor

• 1805–1807

James Wilkinson

• 1807–1809

Meriwether Lewis

• 1810–1812

Benjamin Howard

History

• Established

July 4 1805[1]

• Renamed Territory of Missouri

June 4 1812
Preceded by Succeeded by

District of Louisiana

Missouri Territory

Louisiana

The Territory of Louisiana or Louisiana Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United
States that existed from July 4, 1805, 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 (which is now the Arkansas–Louisiana state line).

Contents

1 Background

2 Establishment

3 Boundaries

4 Subdivisions

5 Government

6 Renaming

7 Current States

8 See also

9 References

10 External links

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,"[2] which
established the Territory of Orleans and the District of Louisiana as 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, Congress passed legislation changing the District of Louisiana into the Louisiana
Territory, effective July 4, 1805.[3]

Boundaries

The Louisiana Territory included all of the land acquired by the United States in the Louisiana Purchase
north of the 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 British territory of Rupert's Land
was established by the Treaty of 1818, and the western boundary with the 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]

In the 1810 United States census, 6 counties in the Louisiana Territory (5 in contemporary Missouri and
1 in contemporary Arkansas 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

Government

The territorial capital was St. Louis.

On 11 March 1805, President Thomas Jefferson appointed Gen. James Wilkinson as the first governor of
the Territory of Louisiana.[6] Wilkinson concurrently held the position of Senior Officer of the United
States Army. Meriwether Lewis (1807–1809) served as the 2nd and William Clark (1813–1820) served as
the 4th, and final, territorial governor.[citation needed]

Renaming

On June 4, 1812, the Twelfth U.S. Congress enacted legislation which renamed Louisiana Territory as
Missouri Territory, in order to avoid confusion with the recently admitted State of Louisiana.[7]

Current States

The areas of the Louisiana Territory and Orleans Territory now covers several U.S. states, from the Gulf
of Mexico to the border of Canada.

Louisiana Purchase.jpg

See also

Historic regions of the United States

Territorial evolution of the United States

Lewis and Clark Expedition

References

2 Stat. 331

"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, pg. 283–289.
From Library of Congress, A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and
Debates, 1774–1875. (accessed December 14, 2008)

"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, pg. 331–332. From Library of Congress, A
Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774–1875.
(accessed December 14, 2008)

Forstall, Richard L. (ed.). Population of the States and Counties of the United States: 1790–1990 (PDF)
(Report). United States Census Bureau. p. 17. Retrieved May 18, 2020.

Forstall, Richard L. (ed.). Population of the States and Counties of the United States: 1790–1990 (PDF)
(Report). United States Census Bureau. pp. 95–97. Retrieved May 18, 2020.

"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.
"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, pg. 742–747. From Library of Congress, A Century
of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774–1875. (accessed
December 14, 2008)

External links

Louisiana: European Explorations and the Louisiana Purchase from the Library of Congress

Portals:

Mississippi

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flag Kansas

flag Colorado

flag Indiana

flag Illinois

flag Iowa

flag Michigan

vte

Territories of the United States

vte

State of Louisiana

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State of Missouri

Portals:

flag United States

History

Categories: States and territories disestablished in 1812Louisiana TerritoryFormer organized territories

of the United StatesGreat PlainsMidwestern United States1805 establishments in the United StatesPre-
statehood history of ArkansasPre-statehood history of IowaPre-statehood history of KansasPre-
statehood history of LouisianaPre-statehood history of MissouriPre-statehood history of MontanaPre-
statehood history of NebraskaPre-statehood history of North DakotaPre-statehood history of
OklahomaPre-statehood history of South DakotaPre-statehood history of Wyoming1800s in the United
States1812 disestablishments in the United States