FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
Contact: Media Relations
April 30, 2003 202-268-2155
Stamp Release No. 020
www.usps.com

LOUISIANA PURCHASE HONORED WITH POSTAGE STAMP ON
BICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION

NEW ORLEANS – Often referred to as the greatest real
estate deal in history, the 1803 Louisiana Purchase created one of the
largest nations in the world. The United States Postal Service today
commemorated the bicentennial of this event by issuing a new
commemorative postage stamp. The dedication ceremony took place
at the Cabildo of the Louisiana State Museum in New Orleans.

The Louisiana Purchase stamp is available today in post
offices in the New Orleans area and in post offices nationwide
beginning tomorrow.

“The Louisiana Purchase was a critical milestone in our
nation’s history, allowing our young nation to double in size with the stroke of a pen. We join the
people of Louisiana—and the twelve other states that today include parts of that famous
purchase—in celebrating this bicentennial anniversary with the issuance of the Louisiana
Purchase stamp,” said Richard J. Strasser, Jr., chief financial officer and executive vice
president for the U.S. Postal Service and the stamp dedicating official.

Kicking off the event was the presentation of colors by the 1803 U.S. Militia, Louisiana
Office of State Parks; followed by postal employee Freddie Narcisse who sang the National
Anthem.
Joining Strasser were Jim Sefcik, director, Louisiana State Museums, who welcomed the
enthusiastic and overflow crowd to the dedication ceremony; Kathleen Babineaux Blanco,
Lieutenant Governor, State of Louisiana, who gave remarks and presented a proclamation; and
Norman Robinson, NBC anchor, who served as master of ceremonies.

France had originally claimed Louisiana, a vast tract of unchartered wilderness west of the
Mississippi, but ceded it to Spain in 1762, prior to the 1763 Treaty of Paris. On Oct. 1, 1800,
Spain secretly transferred the land back to France.

President Thomas Jefferson learned of the transfer in 1801. Jefferson dispatched James
Monroe to France with an appropriation from Congress to buy New Orleans, as well as eastern
and western Florida, if possible.

When U.S. Minister to France, Robert R. Livingston, learned Napoleon was willing to sell
the entire territory of Louisiana to the U.S. he and Monroe quickly began formal negotiations with
Francoise Barbé-Marbois, France’s minister of finance. They agreed upon a price of $15 million,
and in early May they signed a treaty to seal the transaction. The treaty was dated April 30, 1803.

On Dec. 20, 1803, the United States took possession of its new territory at a ceremony in
New Orleans. Dutch and British bankers financed the purchase at six percent interest for 20
years. When final payment was made, the total cost for doubling the size of the country came to
$23.5 million—about four cents an acre.

Background of the composite stamp art consists of a map of the United States overlaid
with a facsimile of the first page of the English translation of the treaty. In the foreground is a
painting by Garin Baker that depicts the signing of the treaty.

Stamp artist Garin Baker, is a native of New York City, a freelance artist, muralist and
illustrator. His art—from New York cityscapes to rural landscapes reminiscent of the Hudson
River School—has been exhibited widely and honored by the Society of Illustrators and the Art
Directors Club.

To see the new Louisiana Purchase stamp, visit the Postal Service Web site at
www.usps.com/communications/news/stamps/welcome.htm, and open the press release
announcing the stamp.

Current U.S. stamps, as well as a free comprehensive catalog, are available toll free by
calling 1 800 STAMP-24. In addition, a selection of stamps and other philatelic items are available
at the Postal Store at www.usps.com/shop.

Since 1775, the U.S. Postal Service has connected friends, families, neighbors and businesses by mail.
It is an independent federal agency that visits 140 million homes and businesses every day and is the
only service provider to deliver to every address in the nation. The Postal Service receives no taxpayer
dollars for routine operations, but derives its operating revenues solely from the sale of postage,
products and services. With annual revenues of more than $66 billion, it is the world’s leading provider of
mail and delivery services, offering some of the most affordable postage rates in the world. The Postal
Service delivers more than 43 percent of the world’s mail volume—some 203 billion letters,
advertisements, periodicals and packages a year—and serves 7 million customers each day at its
38,000 retail locations nationwide.

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