Effects Of The Purchase Of Louisiana

The Louisiana Purchase was a portion of land west of the mississippi. It was purchased from Napoleon (French) by the U.S. for 15 million dollars in 1803. The U.S. wanted new orleans because then The United States would have a faster route to get to the coastal states. The federalist had legitimate problems with the Purchase and expressed them openly.

Thomas Jefferson had mixed emotions about the Louisiana Purchase. On one hand, he knew it would be a grand opportunity, and the United States would be assured free navigation of the Mississippi River. Also, it would double our nation in size and be considered one of the largest, if not the largest, land transaction in history. On the other hand, he was conflicted whether or not to buy the Louisiana Territory because of guidelines set forth in the Constitution. The Constitution did not specifically

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.

Napoleon convinced the Spain to return to the Louisiana Territory in 1800. Americans were alarmed when news about a secret transfer was exposed. The thought of a massive attendance of the French in the midcontinent, worried Jefferson simply because he did not want the U.S. and Britain to form an alliance. Jefferson wanted a solution to his problem, so he came up with the idea of buying New Orleans and western Florida from the French. In Paris of April 1803, Monroe had arrived, but Napoleon had already decided to sell the entire Louisiana Territory to the United States. With not enough time to speak to their government, the deal was closed for $15 million by Livingston and

The Lewis and Clark expedition or the “Louisiana Purchase” was the result of Spain selling the whole Louisiana area to France, and seeing how France was trying to become dominant over England, Thomas Jefferson feared that France would try to make itself the dominant power in the U.S. too. Jefferson worried about what would happen when, or if, France took over New Orleans. Jefferson sent James Monroe to buy back New Orleans, however France had lost its Haiti territory., and without Haiti, France had no way to defend the Louisiana territory, and France was in the shadow of a war, so to gain money for the coming war, Napoleon sold the entire Louisiana area to the U.S. for less than 4 cents an acre.

President Thomas Jefferson had moral dilemma on buying the Louisiana Purchase. Thomas Jefferson was elected president on February 17, 1801 with no plans on expanding the United States of America. On the first of October the French and Spain signed the treaty of San Ildefonso witch gave the Louisiana territory back to the French. In 1802 the French still has not taken control of the Louisiana territory so mostly Spanish people still lived in the Louisiana territory. A Spanish colonel closed the port of New Orleans to the United States witch stopped America from using that port, witch really hurt the United States because we wouldn’t be able to export are goods and crops. Most American where scared because they thought Napoleon had sent that order so it scared everybody. America also knew that Napoleon had tried to take over what is now known as Haiti but they

Some argued that the purchase was unconstitutional because the Constitution didn’t say that Jefferson could purchase the land. Others argued that the purchase was indeed constitutional because the Constitution didn’t say Jefferson couldn’t purchase the land. Also, like said above, Jefferson had an aversion to big moves by the central government. Again, he compromised his beliefs by purchasing a territory from a foreign nation (obviously a huge move by the central government (not by the states)). It is seemingly understandable, however, that Jefferson decided to compromise his beliefs. He was afraid that the French would give up the deal in the time it would take to pass an amendment saying that he could purchase the land. Jefferson also resolved the issue (of constitutionality, his personal beliefs, etc.) by deciding that the growth of the nation (at a modest price) was more important than his own political aversion to big moves by the central government. In addition, Jefferson seemed to have purchased the land in order to protect the United States. First off, Spain’s agreement to give Louisiana back to the French compromised Pinckney’s Treat, which gave the United States access to the Mississippi River. Also, he feared that Napoleon, if he had control over the territory, would close off New Orleans to the United States

While the Spanish surrendered the trans-Mississippi region to the French in 1800, Jefferson decided to acquire more territory at once. He feared that French territory in the United States would bring British war on American soil. As a result, President Jefferson sent James Monroe and Robert Livingston to Paris. Monroe's was given a maximum of ten million dollars to buy New Orleans and as much land east as possible. However, in opposition to Jefferson's wishes, Monroe purchased all of Louisiana for a hefty fifteen million dollars. Although the Democratic-Republicans were in favor of the Louisiana Purchase, Jefferson, still in shock of Monroe's settlement, questioned the constitutionality of the treaty. This purchase did not specifically empower the president or Congress to annex foreign territory. This event inevitably led to the Hartford Convention of 1815, in which contradicted Jefferson's purchase(Doc E).

The Louisiana Purchase was the most important event of President Thomas Jefferson's first Administration. In this transaction, the United States bought 827,987 square miles of land from France for about $15 million. This vast area lay between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains, stretching

At first the United States wanted to buy only New Orleans and the land around it. The purchase met with the strong opposition in the United States on account of being unconstitutional. Those accusations were correct to some extent. President Jefferson couldn’t deny that the Constitution of the United States did not provide for buying new territories but still he decided to proceed with the purchase since the removal of French presence in the region was such an important issue.

Jefferson was troubled by the fact of France owning the land, because it might scare people away to settle in the land. In response James Monroe was sent to France along with Robert Livingston to negotiate a trade for the New Orleans territory. Jefferson limited the cost to $10

The Louisiana Purchase was a major event in the growth of the United States of America. Purchased from France for 15 million by Thomas Jefferson in 1803, it gave America twice the available land, adding 827,000 square miles. Some may argue the Louisiana Purchase is unconstitutional, but Jefferson found a way around that. The Constitution says land may be acquired through treaties such as the Louisiana Purchase. After the accusation of the Louisiana Territory, Jefferson had an expedition lead by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. The goal of the expedition was to map the new territory and find a quicker path to the Pacific Ocean. The entire expedition lasted a little longer than two years to complete.

The American government was not economically prepared to partake in expensive transactions. This Louisiana Purchase was not too long following the revolution from England. The conflict resulted in American victory and freedom for the colonies. However, the war also left the new country crippled and financially unstable without the support of England. The nation was hardly able to afford the land that France had to offer. However, Thomas Jefferson saw the economic advantages that this offer could present to the country. Jefferson was a huge supporter of farmers and the benefits that agriculture could bring the nation. Rich in gold, silver and other ores, as well as huge forestland,

Even though Jefferson was very opposed to loose interpretation of the constitution and judicial expansion under John Marshal, he did discard his strict principles from time to time when it became necessary. “Self-preservation—the first law of nature and nations—took precedence over the constitutional limitations that he scrupulously observed in peacetime.” This is especially true in the case of the Louisiana Purchase. Americans were expanding westward and needed a port for transport on the Mississippi, so Spain allowed them to use New Orleans. In 1801 Louisiana was ceded to France by Spain. France was not as cooperative as Spain and closed the port of New Orleans to the U.S. Therefore, a sudden disruption in trade was a legitimate cause for tension between the U.S. and France, and many people believed that a war would break out if the Americans did not buy New Orleans. Thomas Jefferson himself thought troubles were

The Louisiana Purchase is the biggest exchange of land in history. Jefferson’s acquisition of this big piece of land doubled the United States’ size for 15 million dollars. The Louisiana Purchase would have not happen without Napoléon’s loss of interest in the french american empire. At the time, Thomas Jefferson was in office,the president’s political beliefs opposed this to happen, what convinced him? As the United States started to expand, gaining alliance with the most powerful forces on the planet, business and influence started to flourish. New Orleans became the most diverse place in the country both socially and politically.