ABSTRACT
Fortunately, war is not always required to obtain land and protect interests; it can be bought. In 1803, during Thomas Jefferson’s presidency, a purchase was negotiated that expanded the territory of the United States by nearly 830,000 square miles, at a cost of
5.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 117 5.2 Value-altering component ................................................................................................ 119 5.3 Complexity .......................................................................................................................... 120 5.4 VAC: Environment ............................................................................................................. 120
5.4.1 The Pike County effect .......................................................................................... 121 5.4.2 Timber value in Michigan .................................................................................... 121 5.4.3 Contamination and tax fraud ............................................................................... 122
5.5 VAC: Hydrogeology ........................................................................................................... 123 5.5.1 Water and the Wetlands Bank ............................................................................. 123 5.5.2 Geology ................................................................................................................... 124
5.6 VAC: Development ............................................................................................................. 125 5.6.1 Agriculture and the USDA report ....................................................................... 127 5.6.2 Facilities ................................................................................................................... 128 5.6.3 Recreation ............................................................................................................... 129
5.7 Case study: Michigan revisited ....................................................................................... 130 5.8 Conclusions ......................................................................................................................... 131 References ..................................................................................................................................... 131
42 cents per acre in $2012. The “Louisiana Purchase” gave the United States ownership of all, or part, of what would become 15 modern-day states, including the majority of the Great Plains and most of the western border of the Mississippi River. It is widely accepted that the land purchase was as much a strategic move, to remove French political and military inuence from the newly formed United States, as it was an opportunity to increase potential for America’s future land development and trade. If you could buy nearly 4 square miles for $1000 in today’s money value, you would be foolish not to invest.
