Spain's forces could not be sent to Florida. They were needed in South America. So the king of Spain agreed to give Florida to the United States. In exchange, the United States agreed to pay five million dollars to American citizens who had damage claims against Spain.

Historian Harlow Unger says the negotiations with Spain led to more than just Florida. He says President Monroe and Spanish officials also agreed on the boundaries of the Louisiana Purchase. They set the boundaries on the very top of the Rocky Mountains, in the central-west of the United States. The mountains created a natural border.

Mr. Unger says they extended American territory into the northwest edge of the continent, to what are now the states of Washington and Oregon. In other words, he says, Monroe moved the American frontier to the Pacific Ocean.

“He really stretched the nation into an empire that reached from sea to shining sea.”

With the new growth of the nation, tens of thousands of people began moving west. They built houses, started farms, and created towns.

“And it was the first time in world history, really, that any sovereign state had granted so much land to people that were not of noble birth. And this expanded the strength of the Americans population. For the first time now thousands, tens of thousands, of Americans became landowners. With ownership of land, these people were now Americans. Thousands of them were able to vote for the first time, were able to run for office for the first time, and really direct the course of their communities and their nations. It empowered the American people and they absolutely worshiped Monroe for his efforts.”