The Louisiana Purchase
1803
The Louisiana Purchase was a land purchase made by the United States in 1803. President Thomas Jefferson bought the territory from France, which was led by Napoleon Bonaparte. The purchase was made for fifteen million dollars. The first men sent to negotiate the deal were only meant to spend ten million, but the French government said that for five million more they would sell all of the Louisiana territory. Jefferson agreed to the deal, and used his constitutional power to sign treaties to make the deal. Napoleon sold the land because of his desperation for money and the fear of losing his territories to the British. Despite going against his republican principles of only doing exactly what the Constitution …show more content…
There were four acts: the Naturalization Act extended the citizenship requirement from 5 years to 14 years, the Alien Act gave the president the power to imprison or deport any alien considered dangerous, even in peacetime, the Alien Enemies Act gave the president the power to deport any alien that was associated with an enemy nation of the United States, and the Sedition Act made it a crime to publish false or scandalous writings about the government or the officials. These acts responded to the XYZ affair in 1797 and the French seizing American ships. They were mostly aimed at destroying the Republican Party to secure a one-party system, so they reduced the freedoms of dissenting parties. Federalists believed that if you opposed the government policy, you are disloyal to the government and are guilty of sedition. The Acts would lead to the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, where Jefferson and Madison wanted to go against Federal …show more content…
Jay’s Treaty was greatly unpopular with the citizens, but George Washington and others realized it was the price of valuable peaceful time with Britain, and would allow them to strengthen themselves before a future conflict with Britain. The two nations’ relationship was deteriorating quickly, and the treaty stalled the conflict that would come in 1812. The anger from the American people was shown through the attacks made on the treaty’s supporters. Jay had to resign from the Supreme Court and had models of him burned throughout the country, Hamilton was stoned by an angry crowd, and while Washington was an admirable man, he went through sharp criticism at this time. And while the treaty had multiple flaws, it allowed America to have a stronger, more prepared stance before the war eventually