Louisiana Purchase Essay

Before, the war in 1803, President Thomas Jefferson acquired land from the French for $15 million. This was best known as the Louisiana Purchase, which doubled the size of the United States it stretched from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and from Canada to New Orleans.

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,

The Louisiana Purchase was the United States purchase of the Louisiana territory in April of 1803 from the French. The French at the time were in need of money because of the war between them and the British so they decided to sell their Louisiana territory to America. The Louisiana Purchase created an issue with the people who live in the Louisiana territory. Since most of the people who live there are of a French origin, Americans and the American government were split on how citizenship status should be given and how would the Louisiana territory be added to the United States Union. For Louisiana and its inhabitants, they should be admitted into the United States on an equal footing with the original states of the Union because the United

The Louisiana Purchase became known as the biggest land deal in the United States. It acquisition was valued at an estimated $15 million for 800,000 square miles of land. It was during President Jefferson’s presidency that he faced enormous backlash and hardship. Some questioned his purpose. Some thought it was for his political benefit, while other saw it as an accomplishment.

This inspired the Lousisiana Purchase, which was a brilliant diplomatic achievement. The purchase of the Louisiana territory from France for $15 million, doubled the size of American territory. It did however leave Jefferson with a constitutional dilemma. He admitted that the purchase was not authorized by the Constitution, but he allowed his desire to expand the American Republic to trump his legal concerns. The purchase was supported by other Republicans for several reasons. Acquiring more territory would serve "the immediate interests of our Western citizens" and promote "the peace and security of the nation in general" by removing French control and creating a protective buffer separating the United States from the rest of the world. And in the time it would've taken to make the purchase constitutional, the opportunity the buy the land could've

President Thomas Jefferson faced many moral dilemmas during the process of deciding to purchase the territory, the moral predicaments that president Thomas Jefferson faced was going against the constitution, going in major debt to pay for the territory, and also faced many issues with foreign policy almost exclusively between the countries Spain and France. President Jefferson was put in a situation that no other leader of our young country had ever been in, and he stressed about breaking his own moral code to make the correct decision for his nation.

In the eyes of several, the Louisiana Purchase may well be recognized as one of the all-time greatest real estate deal. As Paul Leicester stated in his work of The Works of Thomas Jefferson “Jefferson at the stroke of a pen essentially doubled the territorial extent of the United States.” On April 30, 1803, U.S. representatives located in Paris approved to purchase 828,000 square miles at the very cost-efficient amount of fifteen million dollars that spread from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains, and from the Gulf of Mexico all the way north to Canada. To better realize how inexpensive the United States purchased that land for was about eighteen dollars and some change per square mile. Soon enough, the newly purchased land of western territory became six states and portions of nine present-day states. As one could imagine this great purchase did not happen without a buildup of time, and without many factors leading up to the Louisiana Purchase. Below are a couple of factors such as the Spanish control of New Orleans and Napoleon’s burning desire for the Caribbean Island of Haiti.

Being able to transfer goods to ocean-going ships facilitated the process of trade. New Orleans opened trading access to the Mississippi and the rest of the world (192). By controlling the New Orleans port, the United States had the capability to trade with overseas nations. Previously, states further inland had to transport their products all the way to the East Coast which took several weeks due to the poor transportation routes which included crossing or going around the Appalachian Mountains. The US economy was now able to grow at a much greater rate. Furthermore, as part of the Louisiana Purchase treaty, the United States was given full control of the Mississippi River. “Americans living on the frontier west of the Appalachians were dependent on shipping their agricultural goods…to New Orleans. Thus, they needed the Mississippi” (McNeese 25). Being on the west of the Appalachian Mountains made it difficult to transport products, however now with occupation of the Mississippi, crops and goods could be transported west of the mountains in a more efficient manner. The Mississippi River economically guided the west successfully, and without the river, there would have been a lot of economic pressures which would have endangered the stable union (Kastor 36). The river became increasingly important and allowed the trading of goods from the North to the South. Without the river, there would have been significant pressures on the

The Louisiana Purchase was the first notable acquisition to national unity, for it allowed contact between states to expand and helped to unite some the of the southern states.

The Louisiana Purchase, in 1803 was a deal for land between the United States and France, in which the U.S. purchased approximately 827,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River for $15 million. The territory that was bought included Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska, parts of Minnesota and Louisiana west of Mississippi River, including New Orleans, big parts of North and northeastern New Mexico, South Dakota, northern Texas, some parts of Wyoming, Montana, and Colorado as well as parts of Canadian territories Alberta and Saskatchewan. This effectively doubled the size of the United States. The land was bought on the date July 4, 1803.

The United States has long tried to purchase from Spain the Florida but only in 1818 in the Spanish colonies there is a situation that the Spanish government has decided to consider the possibility. Spanish metropolis was exhausted by the war in the Peninsula and in the American colonies of Spain the revolution began. The Spanish

Napoleon decided to abandon his plans for an empire in the New World. The Purchase enclosed portions of 14 states, and 2 Canadian Provinces. The Purchase involved all of what is now Nebraska, Arkansas, Iowa, Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas, and some of Minnesota. In inclusion, the Purchase contained small parts of land that would someday become part of the Canadian provinces. In the Purchase, the land covered around 23% of the area of the United States.

hard for people to buy their own land, which is why it was only a

“Jefferson’s ideals came from a hypothetical yeoman farmer, whose hard labour on the land will offer the best judgment on the rights of people.” (Sturgis, pg 7) At times, Jefferson had made uncomfortable decisions that opposed his ideals and beliefs, such as the Louisiana Purchase from Napoleon. This forced a removal of the

had sold only the right to use the land, not the land itself. They did