Dbq Louisiana Purchase Analysis

From the time of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 to the time of the Gadsden Purchase, westward expansion was a fuel to the issue of slavery extension to the West, causing sectionalism to increase between the North and South. Although westward expansion was one of the factors that accelerated sectionalism between the North and the South, other factors such as the imbalance between the states, the gag rule, the Missouri Compromise of 1820, the Compromise of 1850, the tariff of Abomination, popular sovereignty, and many more played their roles in the sectionalism between the North and the South. The more the United States grew and expanded westward, more factors appeared to hinder the growth of slavery, causing the South to threaten to secede from the Union due to their pro-slavery views.

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.

Throughout the years of 1807-1910, there was a lot of tension and confusion within the United States. The major factor that prompted the U.S. expansion was they wanted to expand and make their borders known. An agreement called the Missouri Compromise was passed by Congress in 1820.This compromise admitted the states in pairs, one slaveholding and one free. Then in 1857 the Supreme Court ruled that Congress had no right to prohibit slavery in the territories.

A). In April of 1846, President James K. Polk had an idea to expand the U.S from coast to coast and after Mexico denied selling land to Polk because they had Texas, Polk declared war on Mexico because they were weaker and would give more land. As a result of the Mexican War, the U.S acquired a lot of land. This acquisition of new land soon posed as a problem regarding slavery. The United States government did not know if slaves should or should not be allowed in the new land.

Then the Compromise of 1850 occurred which admitted California as a free state and Utah and New Mexico as a territory toward the west based on popular sovereignty, a doctrine asserting the right of the people living in a newly organized territory to decide by vote of their territorial legislature whether or not slavery would be permitted there. Then the Kansas Nebraska Act repealed the Missouri compromise back in 1820 and entered Kansas and Nebraska as territories by popular sovereignty. After The Kansas Nebraska Act in 1854 the Annexation of Texas came about. The United States added Texas on to the map despite all their debt and the controversy it cased with other states, to get Texas away from Mexico and to have their independence. Then the Abolitionist

In my personal opinion, the moral dilemma that Jefferson faced resided in political reality. Jefferson had always advocated a very strict platform of Republican values up until this point. This position had been seen early on in his disagreements with Alexander Hamilton in President Washington's cabinet. In the election of 1800, Jefferson was able to articulate a new type of government that was filled with Republicanism. Jefferson took office and acted as if he was the epitome of Republican values. Republicans believed that the role of government needed to decrease. Jefferson tried to minimize federal control through reducing its reach and scope. He pursued a laissez- faire approach to governance in his time as President, which meant that

Thomas Jefferson faced a moral dilemma and had to contemplate many factors when deciding whether to execute the deal for the expansion of the newly formed country by the Louisiana Purchase. These factors include the cost of buying into the Louisiana Purchase and associated debt, funding a foreign country overseen by a dictator, and differing opinions and concerns from the American people about the potential purchase.

Party system refers to the way parties are organized, the balance of powers between and within the parties, and the issues or ideas which the parties are organized around. The Federalist and Jeffersonian Republicans were the first party system to immerge in the seventeen nineties. The federalist focused on the concerns of New England merchants. The wanted to rebuild a relationship with Britain, assumption of debt from the revolutionary war, and programs with encouraged manufacturing. The Jeffersonian republics were run with southern agriculture in mind.

All in all, between the years of 1789 and 1860, the existence of political parties has deeply affected the development of the American economy, government, and social framework. The American political system has seen the rise and fall of numerous political parties who had a multitude of stances on different issues. Just as George Washington said, a one-party political system is not a true democracy. That is why the American political system has been one of the most successful, as their are often two primary political parties that will not allow the country to lean too far in one direction on the political spectrum, thus balancing and counteracting one

Due to the many people already occupying the newly purchased land and other possible disagreements, this deal could potentially cause more harm than good. Alexander Hamilton, a known enemy of progress to Thomas Jefferson, in his editorial “Purchase of Louisiana”, goes to the state, “There were Native Americans occupying the land citizens due to more space.” Not only were there Indians occupying the land, but also French, Spanish, and freed blacks. This added diversity could lead to social conflicts and sever the ties between than ever before. There was also the concern that an increase in slaveholding states created out of the new territory would exacerbate divisions between north and

north of north of the Arkansas River. He argued that would serve as crucial buffer between French Louisiana and British Canada. Many Americans opposed the Louisiana Purchase. Both houses of congress worried that the Louisiana Purchase would reduce clout. Only one federalist supported the Louisiana Purchase treaty which was passed by a vote of 24 to 7. Jefferson had doubts about legality of the Louisiana Purchase. The treaty did not state the boundaries that both countries had. Jefferson requested for congress to approve a $2,500 for the exploratory expedition to the west. The Lewis and Clark Expedition was a way that Jefferson would hope that Lewis and Clark would find a water route that linked the Columbia and Missouri rivers. At that time

In 1787, the Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution to establish a new, stronger government for the United States. During George Washington’s presidency in the 1790s, Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson argued over the role of the government as dictated by the Constitution. As a result, a two party system consisting of the Hamiltonian Federalists and the Jeffersonian Republicans emerged. To some extent, James Madison and Thomas Jefferson reflected the policies and beliefs of the Federalist Hamilton.

Congress and across the country. They reached a boiling point after Missouri’s 1819 request for admission to the Union as a slave state or a free state, which threatened to upset the balance between slave states and free states. To keep the peace, Congress orchestrated a two-part compromise, granting Missouri’s request but also admitting Maine as a free state. It also passed an amendment that drew an imaginary line across the former Louisiana Territory, establishing a boundary between free and slave regions that remained the law of the land until it was negated by the Kansas. The north’s reaction towards the MIssouri Compromise was that they condemned it for acquiescing in the expansion of

Political parties, Democratic Republicans and Federalists, started in the U.S. because of differing views of Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson, and the influence of newspapers. Jefferson’s and Hamilton’s different ways of thinking(mostly on issues that was beneficial for the country) played a huge part in the start of political parties. They fought about economy. Jefferson liked farming while Hamilton preferred manufacturing and trade. Interpretation of the Constitution was another thing they fought upon.

The ideals and arguments of the Federalists and Anti-Federalists of the late eighteenth century have many similarities to the Democrats and Republicans of today. Federalists and Anti-Federalists, the first two American political parties, debated over how the country would be shaped. First when developing the Articles of Confederation, then when developing the Constitution, the two parties argued how powerful the central government should be in comparison to the states. Federalists believed in a strong federal government. They believed that to have a country that functions well, there must be one authority that can arbitrate disagreements and make decisions to move the country forward.