Why were the Mississippi River and New Orleans important to the United States?

Omg I’m from New Orleans and live here right now I’m sooo excited about answering this .. so like the Mississippi rivers starts at lake ltasca. And New Orleans is where all our stuff go at . It’s where all the trading ports at . For example: before 911 the twin towers where one of Americas top resources places before the big major. But Now New Orleans is one of the top places where all our resources go .. food, money , clothes, etc.. but in order for that to come through it have to go through New Orleans and the Mississippi River first. Mississippi River was a major transportation for settlers and good to ship items east. New Orleans is very important for importing and exporting goods. The river is a major factor in the fight for Louisiana territory. It’s major transportation artery crucial to the economy and trade. It ends about 100 miles downstream from New Orleans. I hope this help ☺️