Early Republic

Transfer Ceremony and U.S. Possession of New Orleans

November 29, 1803
Louisiana
Date
November 29, 1803
Location
Louisiana
Type
transition of power

What happened

A transfer ceremony was held in New Orleans on November 29, 1803, and the following day General James Wilkinson accepted possession of New Orleans for the United States.

People involved

When this happened

Transfer Ceremony and U.S. Possession of New Orleans occurred in November 29, 1803, during the early republic period of American history.

Where this happened

Transfer Ceremony and U.S. Possession of New Orleans took place in Louisiana. Explore the full history of Louisiana and primary source records from this era.

Historical context — Early Republic

The early republic period saw the United States move from the weak Articles of Confederation to the federal Constitution ratified in 1788, with the Bill of Rights added in 1791. George Washington served two terms as president (1789–1797), establishing precedents for executive authority, and the federal capital moved permanently to Washington D.C. in 1800. The Louisiana Purchase (1803) doubled the nation's territory for roughly $15 million, opening vast trans-Mississippi lands to American expansion. The War of 1812 against Britain ended inconclusively but produced a surge of American national identity and eliminated most British support for Indigenous resistance east of the Mississippi. The Northwest Indian Wars (1785–1795) and the Creek War (1813–1814) broke Indigenous confederacies that had resisted US expansion. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 temporarily balanced slave and free states as the nation expanded westward, but embedded the contradiction of slavery in every subsequent territorial debate.

Source

Content adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Source: Wikipedia: Purchase by the United States.

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About Transfer Ceremony and U.S. Possession of New Orleans

What was Transfer Ceremony and U.S. Possession of New Orleans?
A transfer ceremony was held in New Orleans on November 29, 1803, and the following day General James Wilkinson accepted possession of New Orleans for the United States.
When did Transfer Ceremony and U.S. Possession of New Orleans happen?
Transfer Ceremony and U.S. Possession of New Orleans occurred in November 29, 1803.
Where did Transfer Ceremony and U.S. Possession of New Orleans take place?
Transfer Ceremony and U.S. Possession of New Orleans took place in Louisiana.

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