The size of the United States of America was doubled by Thomas Jefferson’s purchase of the area “owned” by the French. Napoleon was in dire need of money to pursue his grand war in Europe. Jefferson wasn’t sure that such a purchase was within his power as President. But he was sure that this opportunity didn’t come around very often—so he bought the whole offered territory. This became known as the Louisiana Purchase.

What you may not realize is that Napoleon’s grand nephew, Charles Joseph Bonaparte was an American. In 1908 this nephew, Charles, created a government investigation service. That service is now known as the Federal Bureau of Investigation—the FBI!