American History : The Louisiana Purchase

In “When the Ends Justify the Means,” Barry J. Balleck debates that President Jefferson did not abandon his political ethics by purchasing the Louisiana Territory (P. 14). Balleck states that the Louisiana Purchase was “the greatest achievement of Thomas Jefferson’s presidency” (P. 14). With the addition of the new territory to the United States, President Jefferson secured the nation “for generations, if not centuries to come” (P. 14). Jefferson was confident that purchasing the Louisiana Territory would encourage the development of an upright Republican populace (P. 14). Surprisingly, he had many reservations about his authority to purchase Louisiana, but that did not stop him from laying the treaty before Congress (P. 19). He also knew that, by purchasing Louisiana, the Federalists power might be lost, but he still pushed forward with the treaty (P. 19). Although many historians criticize President Jefferson for giving up his most visible political convictions by purchasing Louisiana, he knew that it would double the size of the United States and ensure much land expansion for the country (P. 20). He strongly believed that the new territory was “essential to national security” (P. 21). In President Jefferson’s mind, purchasing Louisiana secured the “virtues of Republicanism in an ‘Empire of Liberty’” (P. 22). “The Louisiana

The Louisiana Purchase formed both negative and positive impacts for President Jefferson and the expansion of the United States; dealing with both agricultural and economic reasons. On April 30th, 1803 the United states representatives paid fifteen million dollars to the French for over eight-hundred-twenty-eight-thousand square miles of their territory. This segment of land stretched from the Mississippi river to Rocky Mountains, and also from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada. Both negative views of the Louisiana purchase reflected ill on President Jefferson.

The Louisiana Purchase was a seminal event for a new nation that caused heated debates to just how constitutional this deal of land was. Due to Jefferson’s familiarity with the French during his time in France as an American envoy. Another factor that led Jefferson to purchase of this vast land, was his understanding of the potential dangers of the French military. Posted on the Mississippi River, controlling the ports, and what can enter and leave, this would make trade for the United States much more difficult. The deal was instantly popular but soon found

In April 1803, the negotiation was concluded and the entire region of Louisiana was ceded to the United States for the sum of $11,250,000 dollars (LeFeber 182). The American negotiators seized the favorable circumstances to urge the claims of American merchants on the French government for $3,750,00. This important acquisition more than doubled the territory of the United States. The great majority of the nation received the treaty with jubilation, but there were some particularly in the eastern States that disclaimed strenuously against it. They saw in the great enlargement of our territory and was nogthing more thatn a great waste, a wilderness unpeopled with any beings except wolves and wandering Indians. We are to give money of which we have too little for land of which we already have too much (LeFeber 183).

The Decisions made to buy the Louisiana Purchase were tough; however, in the end the Louisiana Purchase was the most important land purchase in American history. In 1803 the United States had seventeen states along with the Northwest Territory. America still had not reached its potential growth, even though the states were still growing with settlers, until after the Louisiana Purchase. The president at this time was Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson’s decision would soon be the birth of our nation, as well as be the largest land purchase in American history.

At the commencement of the 17th century, successions of westward expansion had already begun to take place. In 1803, Thomas Jefferson, who was president at the time, purchased the Louisiana territory from France. Several citizens did support Jefferson’s purchase in virtue of the many

Thomas Jefferson faced a multitude of complications and benefits throughout the endeavor of the Louisiana Purchase. The Louisiana Purchase is highly regarded as the greatest achievement of American expansion since the establishment of the country. This transaction between France and America gave the necessary requirements to recover and even advance the weak U.S. economy. America paid France $15 million for an estimated 800,000 acres of land; making this the largest land deal in history. Despite the many advantages that the Louisiana Purchase had to offer, Thomas Jefferson, the current president of the time faced many conflicts in the process of retrieving the land. The whole ordeal offered a combination of advantages and disadvantages that spanned from political, financial, and philosophical.

The Louisiana Purchase was a land sale between France and the United States in the year of 1803. In our history it is known as one of the largest land transactions to ever occur. The United States Congress decided to pay, “approximately $15 million dollars to France for over 800,000 square miles of land”. (www.thoughtco.com/jefferson-and-the-louisiana-purchase-104983) This became Thomas Jefferson’s greatest accomplishment through his presidency. By achieving this purchase it also posed a huge problem for the president. He knew the purchase would not be easy as it brought many dilemmas for him. His strong beliefs in “strict constructionism” brought about problems with the Constitution and money issues while trying to purchase. As well as hypocritical arguments with Alexander Hamilton over their opposed views.

Imagine you are the President of a rapidly expanding country. If you got offered 530 million acres of land for $15 million, would you buy it? President Thomas Jefferson and his advisers were faced with this exact decision. Thomas Jefferson, envious of France’s New Orleans, sent Monroe and Livingston to Paris with the hope of at least getting the port rights to New Orleans, if incapable of buying it with a budget of $9.3 million. When Livingston and Monroe reached Paris, they were surprised to find Napoleon and his French government not only willing to sell, but almost forcing a sale on the American ambassadors. Not only that, they wanted to sell all 830,000 square miles of the Louisiana Territory, including New Orleans. Constantly expanding and exploring, Livingston and Monroe knew America needed more room to grow. 530 Million acres worth of land would be more than sufficient for 1803 America. At 3 cents per acre, the Louisiana Purchase was a great deal as far as cost is concerned. Before they had even signed the contract sealing the deal, President Thomas Jefferson had already recruited a close friend and fellow botanist, Meriwether Lewis to explore the new Territory. Before the public even knew about the Louisiana Purchase, the Lewis and Clark Expedition had set out. The Louisiana Purchase was a good idea because it provided room for rapidly-expanding America to grow and explore at an incredibly low price but also increased America’s global prowess.

The Louisiana Purchase was a key point in The United States of America’s history that without it, the country as we know it would be completely different. The Louisiana Purchase may have been a controversial decision, but it was a good on that put America on track to becoming a superpower. Almost half of America was included in the Purchase and the rest on the west coast is separated by the land included in the Purchase. So, if the purchase had never happened America would still be confined to only the east coast that borders the Atlantic and we’d be a much smaller country. However, since the Louisiana Purchase did happen, the country spans from both the west and east coast. The Louisiana Purchase is the treaty that lead America to be one of the three largest countries in the world. Along with the land came the things that are within nature and can only be created by nature which are natural resources. Included in the Purchase made between Jefferson and Napoleon was everything on and in the ground, that was bought. This means that all of the gold, oil, wood, and any other useful resources that could be found on the land was included in the deal. America was then opened up to many more riches to help their economy. This could also comprise of the new land that could be used for farming of many different plants and foods. So, not only did the territory grow so did the wealth in natural resources.

(Doc. 1)The purchase of Louisiana was the biggest purchase the United States had conquered doubling its size. This purchase gave the United States more to discover and it also gave more land for cattle, crops, and for people to grow on their own. The expansion brought more people and better opportunities but it also brought the power of government into question on whether what was better for America

New American settlements west of the Appalachian Mountains depended on river transportation to transport their goods because overland trade was very expensive and impractical. Also, the United States wanted a tract of land on the lower Mississippi. James Monroe, the primary negotiator in Paris, was empowered to obtain New Orleans and West Florida for anywhere between two and ten million dollars. Surprisingly, however, Napoleon offered much more. The United States was given the opportunity to buy the Louisiana Territory, which stretched from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains. This one transaction doubled the physical size of the United States and cost our nation fifteen million dollars. Fifteen million dollars came out to approximately three cents an acre. Now this seems like a relatively small sum for such a massive amount of land, but it was still a gigantic price tag for the modest federal budget of the day.

“The Louisiana Purchase of 1803 doubled the size of the United States, gave the country complete control of the port of New Orleans, and provided territory for westward expansion. The 828,000 square miles purchased from France formed completely or in part thirteen states: Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and

By doubling the young nation's land mass, and doing so at an extraordinarily cheap price, (4¢ an acre) it changed the country for the better. The territory now accounts for nearly all of 15 present day states, and part of two present day Canadian provinces. Throughout the years, the states gained from the purchase have provided the United States with trillions of dollars worth of coal, oil, and countless other resources. Not only did the USA acquire land and resources, but also an optimum place to export, and trade them. At the time, the port of Louisiana was one of the most desired ports in the new world. Located at the mouth of the Mississippi River and the Atlantic Ocean, the port allowed goods to be shipped, inland, or to other countries. In purchasing the Louisiana territory, the United States government changed the nation for the better, and helped make it become what it is

At one time this land had been under the control of Spain following the French and Indian war, but France ceded the land to Spain for payment of debts for the war. For approximately thirty years Spain did very little to develop Louisiana. In 1801 Spain signed a secret treaty to return the Louisiana Territory back to France, in exchange for Napoleon’s promise to give the Spanish royal family rule over Tuscany. For reasons of his own, Napoleon, the leader of France, in 1803 offered to sell the land to the United States of America. The leaders of our country were concerned that the