...Louisiana Purchase 1803 Bridget Cochran 01/28/2012American InterContinental University |...
Words: 1318 - Pages: 6
...P 4 LOUISIANA PURCHASE: 1803 Brandon Correll AIU Online Abstract This paper discusses Louisiana Purchase, and how the territory was acquired. It discusses who we acquired the territory from, and the events that took place in order to acquire it. It discusses the short term impacts and consequences the Louisiana Purchase had on our country. Finally it discusses the long term impacts and consequences the Louisiana Purchase had on our country. Louisiana Purchase: 1803 The Louisiana Purchase was the process and agreement in which the United States acquired territory by purchasing said territory from Napoleon of France. Thomas Jefferson was the President of The United States of America at the time of the purchase, and Jefferson is the President who closed and signed the deal. Napoleon, the ruler of France, had offered to sell the territory of Louisiana to the United States for $15 million. This vast territory extended westward from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and southward from the Canadian border to the Gulf of Mexico and the Spanish lands of what is now Texas and New Mexico. (Patrick, 2003) Jefferson wanted to buy Louisiana, but he was reluctant to stretch too far the constitutional powers of the federal government. Jefferson believed that the powers of the federal government should be limited precisely to those explicitly granted in the Constitution. (Patrick, 2003) Patrick, J (2003) stated: According to his strict constructionist interpretation...
Words: 766 - Pages: 4
...The Louisiana Purchase posed several significant moral dilemmas for President Thomas Jefferson; among these were his republican ideals, the unconstitutionality of the acquisition of foreign land, and the nation’s growth and economic prosperity. Thomas Jefferson challenged his own political ideology with the purchase of the Louisiana territory. This was an internal moral dilemma that Jefferson would have to sacrifice for the advancement of the young country. Thomas Jefferson was a republicans republican; he was a true antifederalist to the bone who was a strict interpreter of the United States Constitution. What really ripped him in two was that he was about to regurgitate the same argument Alexander Hamilton used to justify the establishment...
Words: 941 - Pages: 4
...France explored the Mississippi River Valley then started settlements on land that would turn into fifteen states. At four cents an acre Napoleon sold Louisiana to the United States for a total of $15 million. After the Louisiana Purchase, Thomas Jefferson sent Lewis and Clark on a expedition to discover the new land. On the trip Jefferson had them make a detailed map of what they saw and went different terrains they encountered. In the beginning of the Seventeenth Century after France they explored the territory they established scattered settlements in this region. During the Eighteenth Century, the United States was controlled more by France than any other European power. France then ceded French Louisiana west of the Mississippi to Spain. Since it was ceded, the United States did not know about it. This took place during the French and Indian War [1754-1763]. The French transferred nearly...
Words: 1153 - Pages: 5
...The Louisiana Purchase Cynthia Pullins Anthem College Online August 25, 2013 The Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase is considered the greatest real estate deal in history. The Louisiana Purchase more than doubled the size of the United States, and is the most significant event in the westward expansion of the United States. The Louisiana Purchase changed what the United States had been and had a profound effect on what the United States would become, through Spain’s secret transfer of the territory back to France, President Jefferson gamble and Congress’s ratification of a Treaty. During the years between 1686 and 1800, the French and Spanish colonized and governed the lower Mississippi River Valley. From 1699 to 1762 France controlled the land; in 1762 France gave the land to the Spain after losing the Seven Years War, the French wanted to keep from losing the colony to Britain, so King Louis of France gave the land to his cousin King Carlos II of Spain. Both the French and the Spanish knew how important it was to Americans to cross in to their territory to obtain navigation rights on the Mississippi River, the river was the chief trading channel for goods shipped among the states. It was also important to the United States to trade in New Orleans and to cultivate the economic, political and social possibilities by having access to the Mississippi River Valley (The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture, 2011). America felt comfortable with the way things...
Words: 907 - Pages: 4
...The Federalists were most certainly not justified in opposing the Louisiana Purchase due to the fact that the primary reason for buying the Louisiana territory from the French was to allow the United States to prosper and prevent falling under European influence once again. As known, during the early 19th century, America began building a stable form of government after being under British ascendancy. When the third president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson, saw an opportunity to gain land for young America, he sent a representative to do so. After purchasing this territory, it caused political tension among the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists on whether this purchase was ineffective or not. According to document A, the Louisiana...
Words: 397 - Pages: 2
...United States Government The Louisiana Purchase was a great event in the history of the United States. From this one act the size of the nation was more than doubled and one of the greatest enemies of America, “Napoleon” was removed as a threat. More than ever, the Louisiana Purchase was the greatest achievement of the president Thomas Jefferson. Because adding the new territory to the United States Jefferson held new land for the expansion of future Americans. Also, Jefferson felt that the purchase of Louisiana would ensure the rustic nature of the United States and prevent the degeneration which had befallen classical Republican governments. Jefferson was sure that the Louisiana territory would promote the development of an honorable Republican population. Due to these reasons I will show how Jefferson was justified in his purchasing of the Louisiana territory. Napoleon Bonaparte’s decision to sell the Louisiana Territory to the United States doubled the size of the USA and secured the port of New Orleans. This expanded trade for states bordering the Mississippi. Napoleon must have started to realize he would have quite a battle on his hands if he were to advance troops on the soil of North America. Louis-Andre Pichon was in charge of all general affaires to the United States from 1801 to 1805. He sent regular messages to Napoleon regarding the feelings of Americans on various topics of French interest, especially ones dealing about the Louisiana Territories. The Americans were...
Words: 1279 - Pages: 6
...The Louisiana Purchase has shaped modern day America. The Louisiana Purchase was the United States buying the Louisiana territory from the French. Contrary to popular belief the Louisiana Purchase was much more than just the state of Louisiana. The territory was 828,000 square miles, stretching from Louisiana all the way to Montana, which is equivalent to 529,920,000 acres. This was easily the largest land purchase in United States history. A grand total of around 15 million dollars for the whole thing which is about paying just a little less than $.42 an acre, this was arguably the easiest expansion of the United States ever. The Louisiana Purchase was not as easy of a decision as we know now back then. It was full of political controversy...
Words: 3010 - Pages: 13
...The acquisition of the Louisiana territory by the United States on April 30th, 1803 from France was a crucial and prosperous event in American history. As in The Louisiana Purchase, Thomas Jefferson once said, “This little event, of France’s possessing herself of Louisiana is the embryo of a tornado which will burst on the countries on both sides of the Atlantic and involve in its effects their highest destinies” (Zurn 101). Without the Louisiana Purchase, the U.S. would not have grown and prospered into the nation it is today without the territory’s exploration, discovery, mobility, and political debate. To begin, after months’ of negotiation, the acquisition of the Louisiana territory led to the largest enthusiasm for expansion the U.S....
Words: 1776 - Pages: 8
...The Louisiana Purchase Thomas Jefferson's presidency was based on following the constitution strictly without exceptions. Although in 1803, Jefferson had to make one of the hardest decisions of his career. He had to decide between what he stood for and what would make this country prosper. Jefferson knew that if he followed the constitution he would not be able to purchase the Louisiana Territory. Jefferson's decision was influenced by three main principles; the importance of the Louisiana territory, other options available, and the affect of the purchase. At the time Louisiana was owned by the French power, Napoleon Bonaparte. He blocked one of the most important...
Words: 711 - Pages: 3
...presidency was a dark, but essential, era for America. Regardless of his best intentions, Jefferson’s presidency caused much harm to the United States. The main reason for this was because Jefferson constantly contradicted his beliefs when he purchased the Louisiana Territory, during the War with Tripoli. Despite his constant hatred for the Hamiltonian ideals, he did nothing to repeal them. Thomas Jefferson’s time in office was completely hypocritical, as he repeatedly went against his own beliefs. To begin with, Jefferson went against his Democratic-Republican ideals...
Words: 988 - Pages: 4
...Louisiana Purchase I/Background The city of New Orleans controlled the Mississippi River through its location; other locations for ports had been tried and had not succeeded. New Orleans was already important for shipping agricultural goods to and from the parts of the United States west of the Appalachian Mountains. Pinckney's Treaty, signed with Spain on October 27, 1795, gave American merchants "right of deposit" in New Orleans, meaning they could use the port to store goods for export. Americans used this right to transport products such as flour, tobacco, pork, bacon, lard, feathers, cider, butter, and cheese. The treaty also recognized American rights to navigate the entire Mississippi River, which had become vital to the growing trade of their western territories. In 1798 Spain revoked this treaty, which greatly upset Americans. In 1801, Spanish Governor Don Juan Manuel de Salcedo took over for Governor Marquess of Casa Calvo, and the right to deposit goods from the United States was fully restored. Napoleon Bonaparte returned Louisiana to French control from Spain in 1800, under the Treaty of San Ildefonso (Louisiana had been a Spanish colony since 1762.) However, the treaty was kept secret, and Louisiana remained under Spanish control until a transfer of power to France on November 30, 1803, just three weeks before the cession to the United States. James Monroe and Robert R. Livingston traveled to Paris to negotiate the purchase in 1802. Their interest was only in...
Words: 943 - Pages: 4
...state of Louisiana. It is considered one of the most significant events in history in that Jefferson believed that the United States should grow in size. The Louisiana Purchase doubled the size of the country adding either all or part of thirteen to seventeen states from Louisiana to North Dakota (USA Today). Jefferson served under his rival, John Adams, who took office as president after George Washington, and become the nation’s third president in 1800. On the other hand we have Napoleon Bonaparte, who rose to power through serving in the French military. Napoleon rose to power during the French Revolution, to which he acquired a rank of general from the battlefield at age twenty four....
Words: 514 - Pages: 3
...The Louisiana Purchase began right after the election In Washington D.C. around 1800. President Thomas Jefferson had this belief that if people were able to obtain land, the would be able to endure. On the other side of the world in France, Napoleon Bonaparte convinced Spain Into giving them the territory Louisiana. After hearing about France buying spain, Jefferson was very apprehensive, for he believed it would cause problems with shipping on the Mississippi River. Because of his nervousness, he sent Robert Livingston, and James Monroe to try and block Napoleon from getting the Louisiana Territory. In 1803, Napoleon had plans to conquer Europe. The only problem was he was low on funds to do so. With Jefferson’s authorities in the...
Words: 303 - Pages: 2
...A Good Price for Good Land Webster Wallace American Intercontinental University U.S. History Abstract This paper will tell how the Louisiana Purchase came to be and how the U.S. acquired it. It will tell of the short and long-term consequences of acquiring this territory. It will tell of Thomas Jefferson and the political aspects of this purchase. This paper will discuss The Lewis and Clark expedition briefly and will have a summary of all the facts in its conclusion. A Good Price for Good Land The Louisiana Purchase is certainly one of the largest land deals in modern history, and also one of the best overall land deals one could ever hope for. As part of American history, it is the best thing that could have happened to a country who needed the space and who could not reject the price. Acquired in 1803 the United States paid $15 million dollars for well over 800,000 square miles of undiscovered land. That averages out to less than 5 cents per acre. At that price people would be lining up today to get as many acres as possible. For that matter, people still would be lined up to buy the whole thing even at today’s price of $283 million dollars. Could you imagine calling it The Oprah Purchase? The Louisiana Purchase was a very nice deal, and one the U.S. could not afford to pass up. The deal was arguably the greatest achievement of Thomas Jefferson’s presidency, but it also was a problem for him. Jefferson was anti-federalist and while he may have written or played...
Words: 1149 - Pages: 5
