The Louisiana Purchase: The Legacy Of Thomas Jefferson

In 1803, a significant occurrence happened. The purchase of 827,000 square miles of land for approximately 4 cents an acre or 15 million dollars was made. This purchase was unlike any other, for it would have the most importance of any other purchase made in the United States. It is referred to as the Louisiana Purchase. The land that was purchased was known as the Louisiana Territory. Also, this territory wasn’t just bought. It was exchanged, for an important reason. The Louisiana Purchase is known as one of the most significant purchases or exchanges of money in the history of the United States of America. Additionally, the Louisiana Purchase was made for many important reasons, and was influenced by certain factors. Without the help and guidance of important influential people and countries, war and conflict, and exploration and discovery, the Louisiana Purchase may not have been as important is it is today, or may not have even been made.

In 1800 Thomas Jefferson was elected president. With the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, Jefferson had the vision of the United States growing from sea to sea. However, it was unknown what was out there. Jefferson planned an exploratory expedition and called upon Meriwether Lewis to lead it. Jefferson was very interested in what was in the west lands. Much was involved in the carrying out of this expedition; the preparations for this trip, what happened during their long journey west, and the return home. This expedition was very important in the development of the United States.

A Wilderness so Immense by John Kukla explores the events leading up to and the enduring effects of the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. Kukla begins his story almost twenty years before Jefferson bought the Louisiana territory from France and analyzes how factors ranging from major revolutions to personal relationships all culminated to make the most famous land acquisition in American history possible. He argues that the Louisiana Purchase was not only a case a good luck on Jefferson’s part or solely the result of Napoleon’s failed caribbean ambitions, as some historians that came before him argued. Rather, Kukla explains that the roots of American expansionism are older than the republic itself. American politicians worked and made very

Power is another word for control. People can abuse of their power by demanding things beyond their reach. In the article The Louisiana Purchase, the author demonstrates how Thomas Jefferson abused his power as President to buy the Louisiana territory from the French. The president; Thomas Jefferson, knew that the purchase of this territory was beyond his reach and he still went out and he purchased Louisiana. In the passage it states, "Jefferson was delighted with the deal. At the same time he had a serious problem. The Constitution nowhere states that the President has the power to buy land from a foreign country." Jefferson knew he could not buy Louisiana from the French, but he was delighted with the deal so much, he proceeded with the

The Louisiana Purchase, Lewis and Clark expeditions, the establishment of a national road, and the philosophy

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.

Exploration has always been a central theme in the development of the United States. The Louisiana Purchase, in 1803, made the government more eager to expand west. The newly acquired lands were in need of exploration. A team needed to be established to survey and document the new territory. The Lewis and Clark expedition would answer the unknown questions of the west. The expedition would not have been successful without the leadership, determination, discipline of the Corps of Discovery, and the cooperation of the Native Americans. President Jefferson wanted the leader to have the same passion and intensity toward the discovery of the west as he possessed. Jefferson hand-

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 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.

Before Thomas Jefferson ever entered the presidency, he believed in the “Empire of Liberty.” He wrote in a letter to a friend that “Our confederacy must be viewed as the nest from which all America, North or South, is to be peopled.” His motives for the intense eye on American expansion were greatness for his country, as well as for himself. He was disgusted with the idea of North America being divided into nation-states like Europe. His goal was for the ideals of the American Revolution to spread over the whole continent. He passed and helped pass some of the legislation that helped early America expand. He co-authored the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, which allowed for states to be made from the territory east of the Mississippi and

As President, Jefferson questioned the constitutionality of the Louisiana Purchase. The United States doubled its territory, which ultimately impacted the economy, as it opened trade, laid foundations for future major powers, and established precedents for future expansion. The Louisiana Purchase almost immediately helped the United States, but it also aided the United States longer term. The United States was able to remove all European powers from the continent, and by doing so, gained a national sense of liberty. As a result, the United States was able to form states and ultimately begin to form a

On December 20, 1803, America as colonists knew it would forever be changed in an event that would be remembered in history for framing the way we acquire lands in America through our constitution. The Louisiana Purchase was the first real eye-opener to Americans on how our constitution should be interpreted. Thomas Jefferson, the president at the time, had to make an executive decision that would change lives greatly, whether the outcome good or bad. Jefferson believed in a strict interpretation of the constitution, but in order to make this deal he was going to have to stretch his beliefs a substantial amount. The other people who believe that the constitution should be followed down to the last comma no matter the circumstances, did not see eye to eye with Jefferson’s decision. I am on Jefferson’s side of the debate and believe that his decision was for the greater good of the American people.

In May of 1803 Meriwether Lewis and William Clark departed from St. louis, Missouri to simply find a water route in the west. They were exploring brand new, just acquired territory from Napoleon of France by Thomas Jefferson, who was our president at the time. This was called the great Louisiana purchase. The Lewis and Clark exploration was nothing less than extraordinary, they came across three-hundred new species, interacted with over fifty different Indian tribes, and made it completely through the Rocky Mountains. Their expedition experienced a plethora of disadvantages and advantages similar to the that of David and Goliath, making the

Louisiana Territory was a French settlement which bestowed many benefits to France in regard to trade through the port of New Orleans. In the endeavor to protect the American shipments and settlements around the Missouri River and New Orleans, Jefferson negotiated with France to acquire the territory. Napoleon Bonaparte, emperor of France, first refused but was left with no alternative than to sell the territory in order to accumulate money to prosecute his ongoing wars with Britain and other European powers. In 1803, the territory brought from France become known as the Louisiana Purchase and was open to disclosure. Jefferson first proposed the exploratory expedition even before Napoleon offered to sell France’s American territory. He had always tried to initiate a western expedition since 1792, and his tenacity to discover the land had only grown since he became the president in 1801. With much curiosity, he funded Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, captains in the army, to explore the vast land of the West. Their expedition would explore the uncharted geography of the West, the lives and languages of the Native Americans, discover unfamiliar plants and animals, and find a water route to the Pacific.

Some historical and ancient occurrences are reasonably comprehensible and straightforward as to why the event happened and the outcome of it. Other than America becoming a newly independent country, the purchasing of the Louisiana Territory was a significant accomplishment as a young, brand-new country. The purchase nearly doubled and expanded the United States size by about 828,000 square miles (“Louisiana Purchase”). However, this was not a laid-back, straightforward business transaction as one individual may think.