Published in celebration of the Purchase's bicentennial, this resource offers a multifaceted view of a watershed American event. In one easy-access resource, The Louisiana Purchase brings together the work of over 100 experts covering historical figures, relevant legal and historical concepts, states that formed in the new territory, frontier outposts, and the Native Americans uprooted by expansion westward. The book examines every aspect and consequence of Thomas Jefferson's momentous transaction: the largest real estate deal in American history. Readers will learn how the purchase made Manifest Destiny really seem like destiny; how it sparked the rise of America's urban industrial society and inflamed passions over the expansion of slavery; and how it triggered tragic conflicts between the government and Native Americans as well as immeasurable environmental damage. Ideal for students, historians, and public and private libraries, the Encyclopedia is the most comprehensive reference ever compiled on an event so central to the American experience that it seems to lie at the heart of everything triumphant and tragic in our history. 300 signed, A-Z essays, accompanied by an introduction placing the Louisiana Purchase in the context of American history Lavishly illustrated including line drawings, photographs such as the opening ceremonies of the 1904 Louisiana Purchase International Exposition, and key figures such as Thomas Paine and James Madison 100+ contributors, including well-known experts in the field Six maps, 49 pertinent historical documents, a chronology, and an extensive bibliography

This work establishes the fact that slavery has existed since ancient times and tries to dispel the myth that slaves are only people of color. Designed to complement the two-volume Historical Encyclopedia of World Slavery (1997), it is much more than a mere chronology of world slavery. The work in divided into six geographical sections (ancient world, Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the United States), each with an introduction and chronology. More than 100 brief sidebar essays interspersed throughout the book enhance its readability. Extremely useful are 80 full-text historical and legal documents ranging from ancient times to the present, covering topcs from the "Code of Hammurabi" to "the Brazilian Government Recognizes Slave Labor" (1985). An extensive index and 50-page bibliography appear at the end of the work. Recommended for all libraries."--"Outstanding reference sources 2000", American Libraries, May 2000. Comp. by the Reference Sources Committee, RUSA, ALA.