The Louisiana Purchase Essays

New American settlements west of the Appalachian Mountains depended on river transportation to transport their goods because overland trade was very expensive and impractical. Also, the United States wanted a tract of land on the lower Mississippi. James Monroe, the primary negotiator in Paris, was empowered to obtain New Orleans and West Florida for anywhere between two and ten million dollars. Surprisingly, however, Napoleon offered much more. The United States was given the opportunity to buy the Louisiana Territory, which stretched from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains. This one transaction doubled the physical size of the United States and cost our nation fifteen million dollars. Fifteen million dollars came out to approximately three cents an acre. Now this seems like a relatively small sum for such a massive amount of land, but it was still a gigantic price tag for the modest federal budget of the day.

Eventually, Spain secretly gives the territories back to France, making Americans worry. Which during the time Napoleon has a grand design, where “Louisiana and the Floridas would provide the necessary economic and strategic support for an overseas empire centered on St. Domingue (Hispaniola), the richest of the French colonies, then in the control of rebel blacks led by Toussaint L'Ouverture” (presidentprofiles). But eventually, a war started in England, where Napoleon will be obligated to sell those territories to United States. Little before that happening Jefferson sent a warning letter to Napoleon, that if they were to instruct Napoleons design plan in New Orleans, it will interrupt trade meaning war must happen. Meanwhile at that time, Madison was working on a project to purchase New Orleans and the Floridas. Soon after, Napoleon decided that the territories Louisiana and Florida had to be sold due to the devastating outcome of the war in England, at a price of 15 million in

With all of the social and economic rifts in America, Napoleon saw a perfect opportunity to capture the sugar colony of St. Domingue from their slave rebellion and establish Louisiana as a part of his American empire. After having purchased Louisiana from France in 1800, Napoleon sent his troops to St. Domingue, preparing to acquire New Orleans. New Orleans had been a major trading port for America, dealing with almost half of America’s import and exports, and Thomas Jefferson began to question his trust in France when Napoleon threatened to take it. Jefferson decided to discretely handle the matter by approaching the situation as it came rather than taking a rash action that would surely create dissonance between France and America. Thomas Jefferson knew that the American West would be put into jeopardy if France captured it as they would have the same commercial rights and privileges as they did whilst under the Spanish. Jefferson issued a warning to Napoleon and treated to side with Britain if France captured New Orleans. As Napoleon’s army weakened and his fear of American attack grew, he decided to sell Louisiana to Thomas Jefferson for a mere 15 million dollars. This made Jefferson reevaluate his strict interpretation of the Constitution as he had to create his own rules with the Elastic Clause in order to obtain the land and secure American safety. Napoleon was not American and therefore did not hold an opinion on federalism and different interpretations of the Constitution. However, he had a major impact on the politicians of the Jeffersonian Age and made people reevaluate how they viewed America. The whole transaction also made America a more powerful force who was willing to side with their long-term enemy with due cause. Napoleon challenged Federalists and Democratic-Republicans as they scrambled to save Louisiana from French rule and

To buy or not to buy, that is the question. Although it was the greatest “real estate” deal, the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 was perhaps one of the most controversial events in American History. President Thomas Jefferson, although he was a Founding Father and the primary writer of the Declaration of Independence, faced major opposition with his decision to purchase the Louisiana Territory from the French. Most of the opposition he faced, however, was domestic.

The acquisition of the area would increase the size of the country two-fold; it was one of the largest property proceedings in history, involving more land than today’s France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Germany, Holland, Switzerland, and the British Isles combined (Harriss). It would provide the U.S. with territory spanning from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada, and from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains;

President Thomas Jefferson faced many moral dilemmas during the process of deciding to purchase the territory, the moral predicaments that president Thomas Jefferson faced was going against the constitution, going in major debt to pay for the territory, and also faced many issues with foreign policy almost exclusively between the countries Spain and France. President Jefferson was put in a situation that no other leader of our young country had ever been in, and he stressed about breaking his own moral code to make the correct decision for his nation.

The Louisiana Purchase, in 1803 was a deal for land between the United States and France, in which the U.S. purchased approximately 827,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River for $15 million. The territory that was bought included Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska, parts of Minnesota and Louisiana west of Mississippi River, including New Orleans, big parts of North and northeastern New Mexico, South Dakota, northern Texas, some parts of Wyoming, Montana, and Colorado as well as parts of Canadian territories Alberta and Saskatchewan. This effectively doubled the size of the United States. The land was bought on the date July 4, 1803.

More than two centuries ago, in 1803, the United States undertook a transaction that increased its territory by almost double. The event took place within a short notice, without engaging in war and with the briefest negotiations. Hailed as the most significant achievement of the Thomas Jefferson administration, the purchase of Louisiana expanded the US territory by about eight hundred and twenty-eight million square miles. Thomas Jefferson, the president at the time, purchased Louisiana for approximately four cents an acre. The territory stretched from the Rocky Mountains in the west to the Mississippi river in the east and from the Canadian borders in the north to the Mexican gulf in the south.

the miles and miles of rich farmland all came with the Louisiana Purchase. All in all

St. Domingue, what is now Haiti, was a place of sugar rich plantations owned by the french. A collection of rebel slaves started the Haitian Revolution in 1791,they were inspired by the French revolution. The successful revolts lead by general Toussaint L’Ouverture earned the slaves control over a third of St. Domingue. While the rebels maintained control of the place, they kept an alliance with France. Two years after Napoléon’s ambition came into power, he decides to send 30,000 soldiers to take St. Domingue back. Early in the continuing year, french forces dropped to less than 10,000 troops. Relations with Britain were dwindling fast, war was imminent, Napoléon’s decided to cut St. Domingue out of his plans. In 1803, the nation of Haiti gave Napoléon Bonaparte his first defeat. Part of Bonaparte’s plan

The core source of Haiti’s economic stability originated from the export of plantation production. After the slave revolt, the newly freed Africans refused to return to the plantation system of which they once labored. Instead, they proceeded to seize the once enslaved land and began their own system of raising livestock and crops for their individual benefit. The government, becoming frustrated with the individualism, initiated a heavy taxation on the exportation and selling of these small-scale farmers. This marked the beginning of “the stalemate between the ruling class and the broader population and has led to devastating set of authoritarian political habits” (Dubois 6). In addition, the French government ordered an indemnity from Haiti to compensate the former slaveholders for their losses. Over the years, in an attempt to satisfy this “insurance policy” and rebuild the economy, the country initiated the drawn out loan relationship with French banks. The failure of economic reconstruction, however, dragged Haiti

This gave these people security and peace from the official Haiti. Everyone else in the outside world was surprised of Haiti defeating France. Many people were worried that their slaves would notice the success with the Haitian revolutionaries and that they would revolt in other places

Napoleon came to power in France in 1799, when he became the first consul, and shortly after that the emperor of France. The first issue he caused for the Americans was his reacquisition of the Floridas and New Orleans from Spain. Spain allowed the Americans to sail out of the port at New Orleans, but with Napoleon

The Louisiana Purchase was considered one of Thomas Jefferson’s biggest achievements during his presidency. The Louisiana purchase was signed on April 30, 1803. It was a land deal between the United States and France. The United States paid approximately 15 million dollars. (Kuepper) Although Jefferson was a little hesitant about the prize in the beginning he made the purchase fair and square. The Louisiana purchase was about 530,000,000 acres of the territory. (Kuepper) Although this sounds like a great deal or idea. Thomas Jefferson faced many moral dilemmas during the Louisiana purchase these included political, moral, and disagreement between many people.

Before, the war in 1803, President Thomas Jefferson acquired land from the French for $15 million. This was best known as the Louisiana Purchase, which doubled the size of the United States it stretched from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and from Canada to New Orleans.