Louisiana Purchase

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Come April 11, 1803, Napoleon’s ministers asked Robert Livingston what he deemed a decent price for all of Louisiana. Immediately Livingston became confused, as he was told to negotiate for the city of New Orleans, not the entire territory. Livingston and Monroe agreed that if they didn’t jump on this offer now, Napoleon was bound to throw it away soon. If they decided to wait for President Jefferson to come and negotiate they would have to wait months for him to arrive, so they took it upon themselves to begin negotiations. Fast-forward nineteen days to April 30, and they agreed on a deal for 828,000 acres of the Louisiana territory for approximately $15 million. A chunk of this payment was used to pay off the debts owed to the United States by France. The payment was made out in United States bonds, which Napoleon was able to sell to the Dutch and British at a discounted rate. Meaning that Napoleon was only to make around $9 million for Louisiana!

When news of the Louisiana Purchase had finally reached Jefferson, he was beyond surprised. He initially wanted to pay $10 million for a single city of importance, but instead he spent $15 million on a chunk of land that doubled the size of the country. The Federalists argued that Jefferson made a mistake buying a huge piece of desert, and that it wasn’t legally supported by the Constitution because they did have the consent of the Senate. What actually had them on edge was what they expected of the future. They knew that more states would be established within Louisiana, which would reinforce the Western and Southern interests in Congress. Jefferson was a top notch supporter of expanding into the west, not swaying from the treaty. In early 1803, the Louisiana Purchase was ratified by the Senate making it official.

On the day of November 29, in 1803, a ceremony was conducted in the city of New Orleans. As stated earlier, Louisiana was never actually given to the French, so the Spanish took down their flag, and let the French raise theirs. The day after, General James Wilkinson agreed to the possession of New Orleans for the United States. The Louisiana territory was officially given to the United States, being represented by Meriwether Lewis, it became the highlight of Jefferson’s presidency. Without having to go to war, having to lose a single colonial life, Jefferson doubled the size of the U.S. overnight. This was the foot in the door for America to continue expanding westward and colonize the Pacific.

Bibliography

Wilson, G. (2003). Louisiana Purchase. Retrieved December 11, 2015, from https://www.monticello.org/site/jefferson/louisiana-purchase

Foner, E. (2014). Securing the Republic. In Give Me Liberty (Fourth ed., pp. 304-310). Killeen, Texas.

Transcription: Louisiana Purchase. (n.d.). Retrieved December 11, 2015, from http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/american_originals/louistxt.html

Louisiana Purchase. (n.d.). Retrieved December 11, 2015, from http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Louisiana_Purchase