The Pros And Cons Of The Alaskan Purchase

This was a big advantage for the United States because it made us well-known on the North American continent and worldwide. Thomas Jefferson stated, "I know that the acquisition of Louisiana has been disapproved by some ... that the enlargement of our territory would endanger its union.... The larger our association the less will it be shaken by local passions; and in any view is it not better that the opposite bank of the Mississippi should be settled by our own brethren and children than by strangers of another family?" (Jefferson). Although it was not favored, Thomas Jefferson saw the positives of the

I. In year 1867, one vote gave United States the state of Alaska. The 1867 purchase of Alaska was approved by the Senate of America by the margin of just one vote- paving the way

Ever since Jamestown, America has come a long way. In the middle of the nineteenth century American’s were eager to move west. They wanted to see the span of the United States from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific. Jefferson was able to double the size of the United States by negotiating with France, which ended up being known as the Louisiana Purchase. Americans saw empty land waiting to be filled. They thought the open land meant opportunity and potential wealth. By moving west, they could share their unique way of government and the freedom it represented. They believed that America would be a great nation.

The Decisions made to buy the Louisiana Purchase were tough; however, in the end the Louisiana Purchase was the most important land purchase in American history. In 1803 the United States had seventeen states along with the Northwest Territory. America still had not reached its potential growth, even though the states were still growing with settlers, until after the Louisiana Purchase. The president at this time was Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson’s decision would soon be the birth of our nation, as well as be the largest land purchase in American history.

Alaska is one of the many few states that obtains numerous energy resources such as oil and gas. Ranking second in the nation in crude oil production, many oil reserves are found in the Alaska North Slope and Cook Inlet basins. Prudhoe Bay is also the highest oil field in the United States and North America with a production of 400,000 barrels per day. With that, Alaska’s economy is based upon four factors, petroleum revenue, non petroleum revenue, federal revenue and investment revenue. Being so reliant on oil, in 2015 after a decrease in oil, the state began going into a budget crisis. For every $5 drop in oil prices the state loses $120 million. From 2015 to the present, barrels used to run from $100 each to now $40. Fund revenues have

“Treaty with Russia for the Purchase of Alaska” LOC. 4 August 2010. Web 16 Sept. 2010. http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/Alaska.html

The treaty also included that for twelve years, French and Spanish ships would receive special tariffs rates over other foreign trading ships in New Orleans. Another provision that appalled Jefferson was that the inhabitants of the land would obtain full Constitutional rights. Jefferson fought the agreements in front of the cabinet, claiming that they violated the Constitution, but members of the cabinet disagreed. The council commended Jefferson to call for a session of Congress to rush the treaty, otherwise it would be nearly impossible to get the treaty ratified within the six months of it being signed; he did so on October 17,

The Louisiana Purchase was considered one of Thomas Jefferson’s biggest achievements during his presidency. The Louisiana purchase was signed on April 30, 1803. It was a land deal between the United States and France. The United States paid approximately 15 million dollars. (Kuepper) Although Jefferson was a little hesitant about the prize in the beginning he made the purchase fair and square. The Louisiana purchase was about 530,000,000 acres of the territory. (Kuepper) Although this sounds like a great deal or idea. Thomas Jefferson faced many moral dilemmas during the Louisiana purchase these included political, moral, and disagreement between many people.

In the twenty-eight articles of the Jay Treaty, conflicts in trading, territory, and impressment were all addressed and revised. The Jay Treaty, written by John Jay and ideas from Alexander Hamilton, was a set of articles which was created to prevent another war with Great Britain. Several articles in the treaty were on impressment, the raiding of an enemy’s ship and taking the loot and crew, and how they would prevent this from happening between the two countries.

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.

The Louisiana Purchase was a key point in The United States of America’s history that without it, the country as we know it would be completely different. The Louisiana Purchase may have been a controversial decision, but it was a good on that put America on track to becoming a superpower. Almost half of America was included in the Purchase and the rest on the west coast is separated by the land included in the Purchase. So, if the purchase had never happened America would still be confined to only the east coast that borders the Atlantic and we’d be a much smaller country. However, since the Louisiana Purchase did happen, the country spans from both the west and east coast. The Louisiana Purchase is the treaty that lead America to be one of the three largest countries in the world. Along with the land came the things that are within nature and can only be created by nature which are natural resources. Included in the Purchase made between Jefferson and Napoleon was everything on and in the ground, that was bought. This means that all of the gold, oil, wood, and any other useful resources that could be found on the land was included in the deal. America was then opened up to many more riches to help their economy. This could also comprise of the new land that could be used for farming of many different plants and foods. So, not only did the territory grow so did the wealth in natural resources.

The Louisiana Purchase is arguably one of the best decisions a president has ever made for the United States, although it caused a lot of controversy. It also was a lot of work and was extremely rushed due to fear that France would retract their offer at any time. The purchase caused President Jefferson a lot of mental agony, but in the end it was definitely worth it. Without the purchase of the land we would not be the great country that we are today. Somehow Thomas Jefferson got the deal of the century when he made the Louisiana Purchase, 800,000 square miles of land from the French. This essentially doubled the size of the United States at the time. Approximately 15 states in today’s day and age were made out of this mass amount of land. The original treaty was created and is dated April 30th. The treaty was then officially signed on May 2nd. Then, in October 1803 the United States ratified the treaty and purchase and the land was transferred from France powers to the United States. The United States paid just a mere $15 million dollars for all of the land. That’s less than three cents per acre of land. This is arguable one of the best purchases America ever made for itself.

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.

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 was sold at 15 million dollars, which at today's price would be about 300 million dollars. At that price, each acre would be about fifteen cents. The land was bought by president Thomas Jefferson, so it lengthened the land of America physically. Document B explains, "The inhabitants of the ceded [Louisiana] territory shall be incorporated in the Union of the United States and admitted as soon as possible according to the principles of the federal Constitution to the enjoyment of all these rights, advantages and immunities of citizens of the United States, and in the mean time they shall be maintained and protected in the free enjoyment of their liberty, property and the Religion which they profess." This can show how the land should be incorporated into the American land so that the people, as states, can have the rights they deserve and show not enjoy these advantages. The people should not be held back for what they believe and not be told what is freedoms they shouldn't have. The land had a major effect and was immediately observed by Sacagawea, Lewis, and Clark so that they can look over the land and the characteristics about it. They would perceive the Natives what they would do with the land and how that can benefit America from expanding their land features. Document A, shows a picture of how America's land has drastically