Find out why legendary historian Bob Blackburn calls President Thomas Jefferson’s historic Louisiana Purchase the most important event in OKLAHOMA History. Great event, great country, GREAT man.
Join John and KTOK/iHeartRadio star Gwin Faulconer-Lippert and learn how the man who wrote the Declaration of Independence and helped lead our fight for independence also cut the greatest real estate deal in history—while going head to head against none other than Napoleon Bonaparte! This is the 102nd episode of our original OKLAHOMA GOLD! radio program! Thank you Atwoods Stores for making it possible! Go HERE to listen to them all! Future episodes explore more great heroes, events, and movements of Oklahoma History.
Oklahoma Historical Society Executive Director Bob Blackburn, the dean of 21st-century Oklahoma historians, rated President Thomas Jefferson’s Louisiana Purchase as the most important event in Oklahoma history. He cited how the act annexed into the United States all the land of present-day Oklahoma except the Panhandle, and that Jefferson intended a portion of the land to provide a colonization area for American Indian tribes.
The Louisiana Territory Purchase (red) from Napoleonic France doubled the land size of the existing United States (green).
Celebrated Oklahoma artist Mike Wimmer’s Ceremonial Transfer of the Louisiana Purchase in New Orleans – 1803 depicts the signing of the document transferring the Louisiana Territory and ceremoniously passing the keys of the city from the French to the Americans. On December 20, 1803, French representative Pierre Clément de Laussat (center of the table) met with (to his left) James Wilkinson, commanding general of the United States Army, and (to his left) William Claiborne, former governor of the Mississippi Territory, in the Sala Capitular (Capitol Room) at the Cabildo in New Orleans.
French politician François Barbé-Marbois, American Founding Father Robert Livingston, and Secretary of State and future President James Monroe sign the Louisiana Purchase, transferring the ownership of present-day Oklahoma from France to America.
Many thanks to Atwoods Stores, a farm and ranch supply company based in Enid, Oklahoma, for their support of the Red River Institute of History and OKLAHOMA GOLD! Please support them as you are able! Wherever you are, you can order online from thousands of quality products on their terrific website HERE. Atwoods also has 66 stores in 5 states: Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas. In addition to farm and ranch supplies, Atwoods stores sell clothing, lawn and garden items, tools, hardware, automotive supplies, sporting goods, pet supplies, firearms, and seasonal items.
Read the full story at Thomas Jefferson & the Louisiana Purchase - Podcast,
from Oklahoma History, with John Dwyer
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