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Louisiana Purchase Pros And Cons

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The Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase was land in North America owned by the French and bought by the United States. Thomas Jefferson the current president in 1803 along with other U.S. ministers, negotiated with France for the purchase of the Louisiana territory. Not everyone agreed with the purchase since the U.S. was already in national debt; yet the buying of the Louisiana territory had more pros than cons. Once the territory joined the U.S., it would expand the USA land by twice its original size. The Louisiana Purchase was a major milestone in not only Thomas Jefferson’s presidency but in America’s history. What exactly was the Louisiana Purchase? The actual Louisiana territory spanned 828,000 square miles east to west from …show more content…

Since the 17th century, France had owned the Louisiana territory. Spain was first in line to attempt to buy the land, but as soon as President Thomas Jefferson saw the opportunity he sent James Monroe to France. James Monroe was the French negotiator for Thomas Jefferson. James Monroe did not arrived in France with the intention of purchasing the entire territory, but French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte offered the whole some for $15 million. President Jefferson was hesitant at first, but he realized there would be a positive outcome in the future if he purchased the territory. On May 2nd 1803 after voted upon by congress, a treaty was signed by President Thomas Jefferson and the authority of the land was transferred to him in December of …show more content…

At the time, the United States only inhibited from the edge of the Mississippi River to the Appalachian Mountains. The purchase of the Louisiana territory expanded USA’s land two times its original size. With the purchase of the territory, came the free reign over the Mississippi River, which played a major role in economics and agriculture. The U.S. sailors and merchants relied on the Mississippi River for transportation of their goods. It was inexpensive, safer, and all together more convenient. The Louisiana Purchase also spurred the Westward Expansion movement by President Thomas

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Kimberly Nguyen October 2017 Swanson 9:30 US History Unit 2 First Draft In 1803, Thomas Jefferson purchased the Louisiana Territory, a land deal between the United States and France. “The U.S. acquired approximately 827,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River for $15 million.” Jefferson sent James Monroe along with Robert Livingston to Paris to negotiate. Jefferson gave them a mandate to negotiate up to $10 million for purchase of New Orleans and all or part of the Floridas.

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When purchasing the Louisiana Territory, President Jefferson faced the risk of being prosecuted for violation of the Constitution, which was different from Hamilton’s creation of a national bank because it was illegal. To begin, after the French acquired the Louisiana Territory 1802, Jefferson worried that the French would no longer allow American farmers passage on the Mississippi River or the right to trade at New Orleans, so he sent Robert Livingston to France to negotiate to purchase New Orleans. When Livingston arrived, he was surprised by France’s offer to sell the US the entire Louisiana Territory for just 15 million dollars. Livingston knew he was not authorized to purchase the territory but he also knew that if he waited to ask Congress, the deal might be gone already, so he purchased the territory.

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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.

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Thomas Jefferson during his time in office faced many challenges with the new country. One major challenge and one of the biggest accomplishments during his presidency was the Louisiana Purchase. This turned out to be a huge issue for Jefferson because of the ordeals and the way he wanted to run the government. This was a major conflict in interest for Jefferson because he was a strict constitutionalist and followed it word for word. In the end what he did was completely overstep his powers as president doing what he feared would happen by purchasing the Louisiana territory without any approval from congress for 15 million dollars.

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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

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The United States purchased the Louisiana Territory in 1803. It had 828,000 square miles and most of the inhabitants in the region had a French, German, or Spanish background. The residents of the territory believed they would immediately be admitted to statehood and would have the same rights as those in the 1787 Northwest Ordinance, but the United States leaders thought otherwise. How did the Louisiana Purchase help the United States form a new notion about citizenship? The Louisiana Purchase helped the United States form a new notion when discussing the legality of the territory and how they would achieve statehood.

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Despite not having enough money and being in debt, The United States government instead focused on expanding their nation and purchased the Louisiana territory from France. Although seemingly contradictive, the United States government wanted to expand westward despite the costs and when the opportunity presented itself, they took it. The territory of Louisiana was purchased from France for fifteen million dollars during Thomas Jefferson’s presidency in 1803. The Louisiana territory “stretched from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada and from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains” (Give Me Liberty, Eric Foner, pg 310).

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The Louisiana Purchase In the year 1803, 42 years before the term “Manifest Destiny” was ever uttered, the idea was still prevalent in the United States. Two years prior, Thomas Jefferson had been elected into office. He was one of the original pioneers of the manifest destiny and set the playing field for many presidents to come. He made the decision to purchase approximately eight hundred and twenty-eight million square miles of land for twelve million dollars from Napoleon Bonaparte.

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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.

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The purchase was one of the greatest real estate deals that has ever existed in the United States (along with the purchase of Alaska in 1867). President Thomas Jefferson offered 10 million dollars for the port of New Orleans so that the US could have access to the Mississippi River. Instead he received the entire area known as the Louisiana Territory and the New Orleans port and only paid 15 million dollars for it. Which means he paid about 3 cents per acre to buy the entire Mississippi River valley from Napoleon

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In the years following the Revolutionary War the United States would begin to expand, although not popular among all citizens, it helped shape the country into what we know today. The first acquisition of territory would be as a result of the Treaty of Paris with Great Britain ending the Revolutionary War. This treaty marked the boundaries between the British colonies still located in North America and ceded the thirteen American colonies to a newly recognized country known as the United States of America. This would not be the only acquisition of territory that the United States would complete between the years of 1789 and 1815 but it would be the initial acquisition of territory that would develop this newly formed nation.

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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.

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There was many decisions made in the past and the future, but the Purchase of the Louisiana was the most important decision made in the U.S. history. The Louisiana Purchase started after the Treaty of Paris that ended the French and Indian War (1763). Spain controlled land west. If farmers on the west

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Often referred to as the greatest real estate deal in history, at least for the Americans, Jefferson purchased 828,000 square miles for $15 million. Historian Henry Adams wrote: “The annexation of Louisiana was an event so portentous as to defy measurement; it gave a new face to politics, and ranked in historical importance next to the Declaration of Independence and the adoption of the Constitution – events of which it was the logical outcome; but as a matter of diplomacy it was unparalleled, because it cost almost nothing.” (LehrmanInstitute.org) All of a sudden, Americans had oodles of unsettled land to be explored, expanded into and exploited for profit (this was the American perspective at the time.

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Thomas Jefferson knew what that 828,000 square miles of land would do for America so he was immediately intrigued by the idea. The Louisiana territory was a huge piece of land that ended up being calculated as larger than Great Britain, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and Portugal combined. So the US gaining the territory would be highly beneficial economically, strategically, and materially. At first, Jefferson was a bit doubtful about the purchase but the bargain he was being offered was not an offer he could pass up.

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