The transaction that changed the course of U.S. history and gave America an undisputed outlet to the Pacific Ocean did not come without a certain amount of trepidation and negotiation. The second half of the 18th century found the newly formed nation with Spain as its primary neighbor. In 1763, after a disastrous war with Britain, France had ceded all of its North American mainland territory to Spain. Through Pinckney's Treaty of 1795, the Spanish guaranteed U.S. access to the Gulf of Mexico via the Mississippi River, providing a trade outlet for the westernmost states. The 1801 discovery of a secret treaty between France and Spain and the resultant possibility of Spain's retrocession of Louisiana to the French sent panic throughout American ranks, pushing the government to quick action to stop this change of neighbors and the possible hostile consequences.

This work details the political maneuverings that took place between the United States and France during their negotiations over the Louisiana territory from 1801 to 1804. Through primary sources such as letters and memoranda, the book closely examines the role Robert Livingston, U.S. minister to France, and other politicians played in bringing the issue to a successful conclusion for the United States. Topics discussed include the economic and military ramifications that would have resulted from a French return to North America, the threat of domestic dissension and the ways in which a French Louisiana would have affected the international political landscape. Appendices provide summaries of Livingston's Louisiana memorandum and two Talleyrand-Napoleon memoranda as well as an analysis of Marbois's book on Louisiana.