The new reference series, Landmark Events in U.S. History, uses both contributed essays from eminent scholars and excerpts of primary source documents with explanatory headnotes to focus on critical events in American political history and explain how it came about and why it continues to play such a vital role in the history and political evolution of the United States. The first three books in the series are Marbury versus Madison, The Louisiana Purchase, and The Declaration of Independence.′′′′The Louisiana Purchase combines documents and analytical essays timed for the bicentennial year in 2003. This timely collection will explain:′′how and why the United States acquired the massive territory that more than doubled the size of the country′′′′the profound social and political changes that came in the wake of thePurchase′′its impact on such far reaching topics like the Constitution, slavery, federalism, political behavior, nation building, transportation, the media, and global affairs′′how major historical figures like Thomas Jefferson, Aaron Burr, and James Madison, were influenced by the Purchase.