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Coming Together

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The Louisiana Purchase is arguably the greatest real estate deal in history. It more than doubled the size of the United States. We gained approximately 530 million acres of land for 15 million dollars; about four cents an acre. Before the purchase, the French had control over the land west of the Mississippi River. Therefore, by gaining this land, America also gained control of the Mississippi River and correspondingly, access to the Gulf of Mexico and the port of New Orleans. Because of The Louisiana Purchase, Americans had the right to trade profitable products at the port of New Orleans and the country became more independent. Also, the purchase provided America with the opportunity for westward expansion, which would result in the …show more content…

It declared an armistice, or end to the fighting. Although the treaty did not address the issues of impressment or neutral shipping rights, Americans were eager for peace and welcomed the treaty. Other events that contributed to independence and nationalism were the decisions of John Marshall in the Supreme Court. His cases were all attempts expand the power of the federal government. In one of his most famous cases, Marbury VS Madison in 1803, The Supreme Court declared that the law on which Marbury based his claim was unconstitutional, and therefore the court refused to order Madison to give Marbury his money. This case showed the use of the Judiciary Act of 1789, which ensured that Congress exercises only those powers granted to them by the Constitution. Because of this act, the rights of the people are protected by the courts. In another case of his, Dartmouth College VS Woodward in 1816, the New Hampshire legislature attempted to change Dartmouth College - a privately funded institution - into a state university. The Supreme Court decided that the establishment of the college predated the state so it had no power to make it a public institution. The decision settled the nature of public versus private charters and resulted in the rise of the American business corporation and the free American enterprise system. Lastly, there was the Gibbons VS Ogden case, in which Ogden took Gibbons to court in order to get him to stop driving his

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