Analysis Of A Wilderness So Immense By John Kukla

Did Thomas Jefferson give up his deeply held political values in order to purchase the Louisiana Territory from the French (P. 2)? This is the major question that has led to much debate within the early history of America (P. 1). Some historians argue that Thomas Jefferson did, in fact, throw away his commitment to states’ rights and constructionism by the large purchase of Louisiana for the U.S. (P.1). On the other hand, some believe that President Jefferson supported his political beliefs, the fortification of the republican government, with the Louisiana Purchase (P. 1).

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 year of 1803 significantly changed our nation eternally. It stunned many people. In no way, shape or form, did we ever believe that our nation would expand so rapidly. What started with the small purchase of New Orleans led into the substantial purchase of the Louisiana Territory. This was a purchase that will make Thomas Jefferson a man to be remembered. Although, he wasn’t the only man who impacted the United States during this time period. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark are the two men that are greatly known for their expedition across the Louisiana Territory. These two subjects, the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark Expedition, altered our nation immeasurably.

The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. “Louisiana Purchase.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 17 Feb. 2017, www.britannica.com/event/Louisiana-Purchase.

To buy or not to buy, that is the question. Although it was the greatest “real estate” deal, the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 was perhaps one of the most controversial events in American History. President Thomas Jefferson, although he was a Founding Father and the primary writer of the Declaration of Independence, faced major opposition with his decision to purchase the Louisiana Territory from the French. Most of the opposition he faced, however, was domestic.

In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson purchased the territory of Louisiana from the French government also known as the Louisiana Purchase. The Louisiana Purchase stretched from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and from Canada to New Orleans, and it doubled the size of the United States. Jefferson thought westward expansion was the key to the nation’s health. In order to provide enough land to the yeoman (farmers), the United States had to continue to expand. Jefferson believed that western expansion would fill up the empty lands with immigrants and provide enough lands for the farmers, so he decided to support the western expansion.

In this regard, in 1803, the United States of America entered an agreement with Napoleon Bonaparte to purchase Louisiana Territory in order to gain access to Mississippi (Davis, 318). This decision created the ground for the further exploration of the region in this dimension by the Americans (Davis, 318). Moreover, the use of ships was an inevitable feature of the American society in the first half of the nineteenth century (Davis, 319). Ships provided society with the link and connection between producers, customers and immigrants, as well as their places of origin (Davis, 319). The amount of people from European region that had moved to United States of America; in order to improve their financial condition and obtain political freedom was overwhelming (Davis, 317).

“There were scores of Indian tribes living across Louisiana, but, given their lack of effective political organization, their inability to combine forces into an alliance, their utter dependence on whites for rifles, and the experience of Americans east of the Appalachians in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and in Kentucky and Ohio in the 1790s, it could be taken for granted that the conquest of the Indian tribes would be bloody, costly, time-consuming, but certain.” The Indians’ government was no match for our government. We were and still are so far ahead of them when it came to politics, we needed to keep things in order by our government being in charge. In order for the westward expansion to be effective we needed to be in charge and take control of the land.

Jefferson saw the Louisiana Purchase as his greatest achievement, and yet his view was highly ironic given its origins and character. Acquired by France in 1800, the vast Louisiana territory, stretching from the Mississippi to the Rocky Mountains, was

The Louisiana Purchase was the outstanding achievement of Thomas Jefferson's presidency but it also raised a long and bitter debate upon the constitutionality of the purchase.

The Purchase of Louisiana posed several important moral dilemmas for American President Thomas Jefferson; among these were the means of achieving Republican government states’ rights and strict constructionism which he relented. Constructionist and a strong supporter of states ' rights and, therefore, the action of purchasing Louisiana presented a moral dilemma, he was either to stick to his principle or compromise and save the Republican government. President Jefferson believed following the principles of constructionism and the rights of the constitution, therefore acquiring Louisiana land made him unable to decide whether to uphold the principles compromise (Balleck).

Thomas Jefferson claimed that the purchase would greatly boost westward expansion and promote peace and security (Tindall and Shi 336). Thomas believed that the opportunity to double the size of the United States trumped any legal reservations (Tindall and Shi 337). Thomas Jefferson’s decision to acquire the vast territory was significant in America’s development (Tindall and Shi

Most white Americans of the 1800’s agreed that the US push western was hard and crucial to good health of this nation. But the big question was at what cost it should be. When President Thomas Jefferson made the Louisiana Purchase from the French he was very happy with the thought of gaining the mighty Mississippi river and the port in New Orleans for America interest but if he could only see the can of worms it would open for the newly forming United States.

The Louisiana Purchase was, without question, Jefferson’s greatest achievement during his presidency. However, Jefferson faced a few moral dilemmas during this time, such as his devotion to strict constructionism, his credibility as the President, and political pressure from other parties. On the other hand, the purchase did provide some advantages to the Union, such as greatly increasing the size of the country, and gaining the support of many Americans.

As a nature enthusiast myself I wholeheartedly agree with everything Bryson presents in this book. I love the thought of being able to trek across the wilderness surrounded by nothing but people who share the same joy as i do, and the beautiful scenery unique to the wilderness. Bryson states that there is a certain kind of pride you gain from doing such a feat, “We had hiked 500 miles, a million and a quarter steps, since setting off from Amicalola. We had grounds to be proud. We were real hikers now. We had shit in the woods and slept with bears. We had become, we would forever be, mountain men.” (Bryson 203) which is something I can appreciate. I have loved nature since being a child, always wishing to explore and see great things, Bryson