Made by RKO-Pathe, in Pathe color and three-dimension, in observance of the 150th anniversary of the Louisiana Purchase from France at a cost of $15,000,000 (more than the annual income of the U.S.A. at the time). After a short narrative showing U.S. Ambassador Robert Livingston (Val Winter) negotiating the purchase with Napoleon and Tallyrand, the rest of the film, guided by Livingston's spirit, visits the 1953 territory of the purchase and shows the growth of such former outposts as Minneapolis, Minnesota; Des Moines, Iowa; St. Louis, Missouri; Kansas City, Missouri and Kansas, and Little Rock, Arkansas. Most of the footage is given to New Orleans, Louisiana and its Vieux Carre, docks, business district and museums, ending with the preparation for that city's annual Mardi Gras.