Jefferson had multiple intentions in mind when he handled the land deal with France. The four main ones are:
To continue looking for the supposed “Northwest Passage” through America, a river route that would slice through America and connect the two surrounding oceans, which would have allowed mass trade between Europe and India, as opposed to the normal land and/or longer sea travel
To make peace with more of the Native American Tribes, as doing so would allow further expansion, trading, and less conflict.
The purchase enabled more traveling along the Mississippi river because it held the large trading post Louisiana, which opened up more trade routes, expanding the flow of goods through the West
To avoid conflict with France. Despite
21. Louisiana Purchase- The purchase had happened when President Thomas Jefferson had bought the land from Napoleon Bonaparte of France, as Napoleon needed money to fund the war with France against Britain. As soon as Jefferson had purchased the land area it had made the U.S. twice its size. Jefferson had also sent Lewis and Clark to go and review the land and bring back information on the purchased area.
He also knew that he would need to justify this because it was technically a violation of the Constitution, since only Congress has the authority to negotiate treaties with foreign nations. By purchasing the Louisiana Territory, Jefferson faced the risk of punishment for violating the
-The Louisiana Purchase caused formation of new states, access to the Mississippi river system,increase in geographic and scientific knowledge, increased conflict with american indians, and it added more territory to the U.S. . Louisiana Purchase and Exploration The Constitution affected the Louisiana purchase because of the Purchase's constitutionality "Nowhere does the Constitution authorize the executive branch of the government to spend public funds to expand the boundaries of the nation. " This was a problem for Thomas Jefferson since he was after all elected by a "political philosophy that emphasized small government, low taxes, and "strict construction" of the Constitution"In conclusion by Jefferson's many ways technically the Louisiana purchase could
Also, powers that aren’t authorized to the United States in the Constitution, constrained by it to the States, are subsequently for the people or the States. Since the power of buying land isn’t directly admitted to the Federal Government in the Constitution, the tenth amendment states that the Federal Government doesn’t have the power to purchase land. Jefferson also believed that the Federal government shouldn’t spend money if they did not have it, and the Louisiana Purchase very much contributed to the insufficiency. Thus violating at his own risk, he purchased Louisiana
He was a strong believer in states' rights and thought that rights not explicitly stated in the Constitution should be given to the states. However, in writing the Constitution, there was no way to predict that a deal such as the Louisiana Purchase would ever be possible. Therefore, the power to purchase land from another government, thereby expanding the size of the United States, was never explicitly given to the federal government. Although Thomas Jefferson realized what a deal the Louisiana Purchase was, he had lots of moral doubts about completing the
“Do you want to know who you are? Don’t ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you.” He should believe so, as Thomas Jefferson’s actions clearly characterize his individual self, while also inducing the question, Does Thomas Jefferson deserve the honor he possesses, through these eminent actions?
While the supporters of Thomas Jefferson believe that buying foreign land was necessary, those who are against him feel that what he did was unconstitutional. In the source, “Thomas Jefferson to John Breckinridge, 12 August 1803”, the text explains that what Jefferson did was allowed, as it had not mentioned that he couldn’t in the constitution. This controversy is huge, because some people believe that he did not have the right to do so. Jefferson made a point that it wasn’t mentioned in the constitution, so he decided to ratify it and pay for it. Some believe congress did not have the right to authorize this decision.
The Louisiana Purchase was the purchase of the vast amount of land from France (and Spain) to the United States. There were many positive results of the purchase that affected both the United States and France. Nonetheless, there were some negatives to purchase, again affecting both countries. Understanding the Purchase, however, is important to see where these affects generated.
The main reason why Thomas Jefferson wanted to purchase Louisiana was because they desperately needed more land for homes and farm life and needed the New Orleans port. He needed the New Orleans port because the Mississippi River ran through New Orleans, which they could use to transport goods for all of the states. Jefferson's infamous quote is “ Anyone who owns New Orleans is a natural enemy to the American people”. Thomas Jefferson needed the port so he took action and tried to buy it. At the time the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte had possession of that land.
The Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana purchase was one of the biggest land purchases in history. In 1803, the United States paid around $15 million dollars for around 800,000 square miles of land. This was arguably the greatest achievement of thomas jefferson’s presidency. The louisiana territory was a wild card in the european game of imperialism.
If he hadn’t purchased the Louisiana territory in our current time we probably would not have had access to the Mississippi river which was a crucial part of trade and traveling back then and now! “The Mississippi River Basin produces nearly all – 92% – of US agricultural exports, and 78% of the global exports of feed grains and soybeans.” (Keith Good, agricultural economy). The Mississippi river held the nation together in 1803 and still to this day we are still using the Mississippi river for sources of
While this was a plus of the purchase, allowing the country to grow so big would also bring along some cons too. As a country grows to be the size America did, this made governing for all of that land difficult. Also, considering that this took place in the very early 1800’s which means that they didn’t have the same technology, transportation, or transmission that we have today. This means as settlers started to move out west, many would start to not completely follow all the laws because there wasn’t as much government power in the west back then. As stated above, another concept that Jefferson and America had to take into thought was this purchase would put America into a huge amount of debt.
The Louisiana Purchase Treaty was signed on April 30, 1803, in Paris, France, during Thomas Jefferson’s presidency. It was a significant milestone in our history and set a precedent for future generations. While people were not convinced that this was a good idea and felt it would be a waste of money, Jefferson envisioned more freedom from foreign superpowers, more land to farm, and unrestricted access to the Mississippi River which was controlled by the more-powerful France. Acquiring the Port of New Orleans and the Floridas from France was the biggest and most important real estate deal in history. It gave people opportunities to settle into unsettled territory, strengthened our nation and paved the way for future land purchases.
The Louisiana Purchase was the purchase of the Louisiana territory by the United States from France in 1803. The U.S. paid fifty million dollars and a cancellation of debts worth eighteen million dollars which averages to less than three cents per acre. The Louisiana territory included land from fifteen present U.S. states and two Canadian provinces. The territory contained land that forms Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska, portions of Minnesota, large portions of North Dakota; large portions of South Dakota, parts of New Mexico, the northern portion of Texas, the area of Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado. The Louisiana Purchase was smart move by the United States.
Jefferson’s dilemma in the Louisiana Purchase In April of 1803 Thomas Jefferson was faced with many moral dilemmas in the process of buying the Louisiana territory. Though the price for the territory was beyond generous, Jefferson felt that by purchasing the territory he would be going against his beliefs that the constitution should be followed word for word. The constitution said nothing of the president having the power to purchase land from another government, or to use money of the states for the same purpose (“the moral dilemma”). Another problem was once the land was purchased, there was a fear that it could have been a waste since they had no way to know the layout of the land, and what it would be useful for.