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Dbq Louisiana Purchase Analysis

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The United States developed politically and economically in the late 1700s and early 1800s through individuals who were passionate about the future of America. Although passionate, not all men agreed on the same ideas; this led them to split into two groups. These groups, or political parties, spent much of their time advocating for certain policies, events, or other governmental issues, such as supporting or opposing the current president. Primarily because of the difference in their leaders ' beliefs, the two- party system developed with each party built on different principles; The Federalist 's ideas often clashed with the Democratic-Republican 's. These ideas were originally set in stone and rarely wavered, but under circumstances …show more content…

When the situation of Louisiana Purchase arose, the parties’ original ideas began to shift, especially in the case of the Democratic- Republicans. Jefferson wanted to complete the Louisiana Purchase, a sale of land from France to the United States that included the Northwest; parts of the Midwest; and South; as soon as possible (Document 4). In order to complete the purchase, Jefferson had to go against his initial claim that any powers not explicitly given to the constitution are given to the state. The constitution did not contain anything that gives the power to spend government funds on expanding the country’s boundaries, but in order to obtain this new land, Jefferson abandoned his beginning principles. In 1803, the Louisiana Purchase was completed, around the same time that Ohio became a state and Britain declared war on France in Europe (Document 4). A few years later in 1815, a clause was added to the constitution denying the purchase of new states without the approval of Congress. "No new state shall be admitted into the Union by Congress, in virtue of the power granted by the constitution, without the concurrence of two thirds of both houses..."(Document 5). This clause needed to be added so that in future situations when the chance to buy territory from other countries emerged, there was no way that the transaction could occur without going through Congress first. It is explicitly stated that a new state shall not be admitted into the union without Congressional approval and, therefore, does not allow for the future of Federalists and others who would advocate for implied powers to assume the authority to acquire new land. The addition of the latter clause to the constitution affected how the parties would look at territory purchases in the

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