In 1803, Thomas Jefferson was sent as the Secretary of State to negotiate with the French in regards to the city of New Orleans --it was a prime trading dock since many waterways would intersect at the port. However, when Jefferson met with Napoleon discussing the plans, the French offered him the Louisiana Purchase that spanned west of the Mississippi River for quite a miniscule price. The context behind such a deal is that the French were fighting in the Napoleonic Wars, trying to fight England; the battle was not in favor of the French, and Napoleon feared that war retributions would require the French to give the Louisiana Purchase to England without getting anything in return. The French obviously wanted to gain as much of an edge as possible in the war so they sold the Louisiana Purchase for quick, liquid money that could be devoted towards the war and the French also hoped that they would be able to buy the Louisiana Purchase back from the United States when the French are in a more stable time. Even with such an amazing deal, Jefferson had internal conflictions when purchasing the land. He believed in the policy of strict construction and felt the government was restricted to only the powers explicitly granted by the U.S. Constitution. However, the Constitution does not mention anything about the government being able to purchase land. In the end, Jefferson did buy the land, and it doubled the size of the United States.
However, what if Jefferson never bought the
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
The Louisiana Purchase was the largest land transaction for the United States, and the most important event of President Jefferson's presidency. Jefferson arranged to purchase the land for $11,250,000 from Napoleon in 1803. This land area lay between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains, stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to the Canadian border. The purchase of this land greatly increased the economic resources of the United States, and proved Jefferson had expansionist dreams by doubling the size of the United States. Jefferson believed that the republic must be controlled by ambitious, independent, property-holding farmers, who would form
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 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.
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.
With all of the social and economic rifts in America, Napoleon saw a perfect opportunity to capture the sugar colony of St. Domingue from their slave rebellion and establish Louisiana as a part of his American empire. After having purchased Louisiana from France in 1800, Napoleon sent his troops to St. Domingue, preparing to acquire New Orleans. New Orleans had been a major trading port for America, dealing with almost half of America’s import and exports, and Thomas Jefferson began to question his trust in France when Napoleon threatened to take it. Jefferson decided to discretely handle the matter by approaching the situation as it came rather than taking a rash action that would surely create dissonance between France and America. Thomas Jefferson knew that the American West would be put into jeopardy if France captured it as they would have the same commercial rights and privileges as they did whilst under the Spanish. Jefferson issued a warning to Napoleon and treated to side with Britain if France captured New Orleans. As Napoleon’s army weakened and his fear of American attack grew, he decided to sell Louisiana to Thomas Jefferson for a mere 15 million dollars. This made Jefferson reevaluate his strict interpretation of the Constitution as he had to create his own rules with the Elastic Clause in order to obtain the land and secure American safety. Napoleon was not American and therefore did not hold an opinion on federalism and different interpretations of the Constitution. However, he had a major impact on the politicians of the Jeffersonian Age and made people reevaluate how they viewed America. The whole transaction also made America a more powerful force who was willing to side with their long-term enemy with due cause. Napoleon challenged Federalists and Democratic-Republicans as they scrambled to save Louisiana from French rule and
Jefferson faced a political dilemma by having to make a difficult decision with purchasing the Louisiana. He was a very strict person involved in the constitution. The federal government had a very hard time dealing with the constitution. The constitution would not give the federal government enough power to purchase it from France. Jefferson was an anti-federalist, although he wrote the constitution he did not agree to author it. He also faced the fact about deciding whether purchasing and acquiring land was even legal. On top of that there was also cons Jefferson dealt with. A con was that the United States would have to protect a larger nation with purchasing the Louisiana. The United States would also have to be careful with how the Americans explored the land and settled. Thomas Jefferson had a lot going on after
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 Jefferson’s major personal moral dilemma was actually purchasing the territory of louisiana from the french. Jefferson was a strong Democratic-Republican. This party was founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, This party was created in opposition of the federalist party which was led by Alexander Hamilton. The Democratic-Republican party believed that a strong central national government would deplete and completely rid the rights of states. The party strongly disapproved of the national Bank Of The United States stating that the bank was taking away power that belonged to the states. Among many of the views of the Democratic-Republican the strongest belief was to strictly abided by the constitution, so when the opportunity arose to purchase the French owned territory, the constitution did not state whether the government could or could not acquire any new land
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
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
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.
There was not specific language in the Constitution that authorized the government to make such acquisitions of foreign territory, so many people viewed Jefferson’s actions as unconstitutional. They also viewed it as hypocritical, given his previously strict constructionist stance and heavy criticism of others for stepping beyond the bounds of the Constitution. Jefferson made many attempts to validate the authorization, arguing, for instance, that “What is practicable must often control what is pure theory.” He meant that the practical benefits of the purchase were more important than his own personal constitutional beliefs. Certainly, although controversial, the purchase of Louisiana allowed the United States to flourish in ways that one could not have
The Louisiana Purchase enhanced the power of both the Legislative Branch and the Executive Branch. Prior to finalizing the deal, Jefferson sent James Monroe to purchase the land east of the Mississippi, specifically New Orleans, from France for no more than ten million dollars. However, France offered to sell the entire Louisiana territory for fifteen million dollars, since Napoleon could no longer expand his empire. The men appointed by Jefferson agreed upon the deal and sorted out the treaty. However, Jefferson, being a strict constructionist, questioned if this act was constitutional, since the Constitution listed nothing about taking foreign land. Jefferson drafted an amendment to the Constitution, in order to allow for the territory to be added to the Union, but Congress decided that the amendment was unnecessary, and ratified the treaty of purchase. Jefferson later attempted to justify his actions by arguing that his actions were valid under the treaty-making clauses of the Constitution. Because of this purchase, the size of the United States nearly doubled and allowed for Westward expansion. This deal increased the power of the President in regards to foreign relations and making treaties. Jefferson set a precedent for all other presidents when dealing with foreign land. With the use of loose construction, Jefferson’s actions were justified by the Constitution, therefore giving all other presidents the same power. In addition, since there was
French concepts are all over America. Everyone who lives here experiences French elements in their daily life. The root of these French influences come from when the French immigrated here hundreds of years ago. The city with the most French influence is New Orleans. New Orleans adopted many traditions and customs from the French. This is due to it once being France’s territory. Even today, New Orleans still has many French qualities,