Section I, 1. Why was Napoleon willing to sell the Louisiana Territory to the United States? How did Jefferson’s Louisiana Purchase transform America’s understanding of itself and its future? Was it inevitable that the West would become part of a much greater United States? Napoleon Bonaparte, before he decided to sell Louisiana was already facing many problems.…
This took some negotiation. “One thing that the United States didn’t need in 1803, was land,” (88). From this you can see that they had more than what they knew to do with. Many of the Americans thought that if the United States expanded the bonds of the union would weaken. Before the Louisiana Purchase the Unites…
The Louisiana Purchase was controversial for Jefferson because he wanted to control an empire of liberty and expand across all of America, however he wanted to avoid foreign entanglements as much as possible. Therefore it would be very difficult to expand when Spain had control of Louisiana which was thought to be soon taken over by France, proving to be a rather large obstacle and making avoiding foreign entanglements impossible. The other possibility was that Britain might take Louisiana before France, which would still prove to be a large obstacle. Pluses : Drawbacks - Ability to deposit American produce in New Orleans : - Possible Entanglement with France - Purchase a vast amount of land for very little money : - Possible Entanglement with Britain : : 5. Aaron Burr plotted to have high federalist form a Northern Confederacy which would be pro-Britain and in this way get federalist nomination for the governorship of New York.…
As all great presidents, many encounter some of the toughest decisions for our nation. Thomas Jefferson has proven this statement true, The Lousiana Purchase seemed to be an obvious dilemma that could potentially make the United States great. Although our nation would succeed, Jefferson had to exam the situation and realize the importance of the circumstances we were in concluding with the Mississippi River. For Thomas Jefferson, many pros and cons were on the line but he had to make his decision based on what benefited our nation’s economic growth, expansion, and Constitution. The Mississippi River played a large role to this negotiation.…
America was still not at peace fully with the French and English. With the embargo act of 1807 American ships were prohibited from leaving port to any nation because Britain and France had restrictions on neutral shippers. So, because of this they needed to rely on what they could produce in America for commerce instead of importing things. Because American’s wanted more land for farming they were trying to take it from the Indians until we bought Louisiana from the French and had enough to satisfy the people right then.…
However, everything changed when Napoleon Bonaparte rose to power following the French Revolution. Napoleon was intent on reestablishing an empire in North America, and signed a secret treaty with Spain retroceding control of Louisiana back to France.…
The Louisiana territory had long belonged to France, but was…
A man named Monroe was sent to Paris to buy New Orleans and land to its east in 1803. He was advised to spend no more than $10 million but Napoleon offered him a compromise he could not refuse. Napoleon would give the entire territory to America for only $15 million. Jefferson understood that spending more than $10 was against the Congress but he continued with Napoleon's deal.…
First he had to deal with France and the Louisiana Purchase. After the Haitian Revolution and the loss of its sugar colonies, France led by Napoleon Bonaparte decided that it no longer wanted a North American empire. This led to the Louisiana Purchase where the United States bought the Louisiana territory. Jefferson created this deal, but there was no explicit power in the constitution for the president to purchase foreign lands. Document C details a letter from Jefferson to John Breckinridge where he admits to reaching beyond the constitution in order to make the deal happen.…
Some historians may analyze the Louisiana Purchase and argue that when Thomas Jefferson purchased the Louisiana Territory from France, he altered the shape of a nation and the course of history. However, there is considerable evidence that shows that the Louisiana Purchase influenced the United States Ideas and policies of citizenship by challenging the social hierarchy, bringing groups together, and establishing a democracy over all of the United States. The addition of the Louisiana territory led to conflicts in the United States. The government was forced to find ways to keep the whole country intact.…
Therefore, Thomas Jefferson set up negotiations with the French and sent James Monroe and Robert Livingston to negotiate the sole purchase of the Port of New Orleans and west of Florida for $10 million. When they showed up to the meeting on negotiating plans of purchasing the port and land, France was at war and was running low on funds for the war, so when Monroe and Livingston proposed the offer, the French representative instead offered the whole Louisiana territory which was 825,000 square miles of land for $15 million. Even though they were only sent to purchase The Port, they knew that this was an offer that they couldn’t refuse. So they went beyond the instructions that Jefferson has given them and purchased the whole territory and signed the treaty on the second day of May which came to be known as: the Louisiana Purchase.…
In 1803, the United States purchased the Louisiana Territory from France, thus doubling the size of the United States. The new edition to the country caused a problem, however. A decision had to be made as to which parts of the new territory would be slave states and which would be free states. In the years prior to 1820 when the Missouri Compromise was passed, tensions concerning slavery grew across the country.…
Up to that point, areas in Northern America belonged to whomever was controlling the land at that time. In 1762, the French were losing and therefore had to give up the Louisiana territory to Spain. In the 1763 Treaty of Paris, the Louisiana Territory was split around Mississippi, reducing its size. By a secret treaty in 1800, Louisiana was given back to France (Eble 347-48).…
Napoleon negotiated with Spain for occupation of Louisiana in 1800 in exchange for Tuscany and a written pledge to never sell Louisiana to a third party. French occupation in the west did not just threaten commerce in the United States, but the sovereignty and future of the nation. Knowing that the French armies would be detrimental to the nation, the typically pro-French President Jefferson proposed that “We must marry ourselves to the British fleet and nation” for survival. As Napoleon prepared a massive army in Holland to occupy Louisiana, fate twisted in the favor of the United States and slave born rebellions ravished through French occupied Santo Domingo. Santo Domingo ports were essential for French success in Louisiana.…
One of the greatest developments of the 19th century was the Industrial Revolution, as it paved the way for a new way of living in America. New forms of technology and transportation contributed to the increased expansion from the established eastern cities to the western frontier. Although this expansion created many new possibilities, there was still people who felt expansion was detrimental to the nation. Between 1800 and 1855, supporters and opponents of territorial expansion influenced federal government policy by urging the government to act, or not to, on expansion debate that would affect the future of the nation. During the 1800’s, America was ready to expand but the French held control of New Orleans and the Louisiana territory,…