ipl-logo

Essay On Thomas Jefferson Land Purchase

669 Words3 Pages

Thomas Jefferson was able to make one of the largest recorded purchases of land, doubling the size of the US overnight. But how did he do it? He was a strongly anti-federalist, so it did not make sense for him to make such a federalist move. In 1803 the US purchased the Louisiana territory (an 800,000 square mile piece of land) from france for 15 million dollars. This was not Thomas Jefferson’s intention by any means when he went into it. One of Jefferson’s top priorities was to Have control over the port of New Orleans, located at the busy location at the mouth of the Mississippi river. This port was very important to the economy and trade of the United States. HIs first offer for the port (2 million dollars) was turned down. So he went …show more content…

Napoleon was a french military man and political leader who needed money. His recently purchased island country (now known as Haiti) had revolted sending him into debt. Because Napoleon saw no purpose in keeping the land he decided he would sell it. Napoleon’s ease in selling the land made the United States apprehensive that he would change his mind, but the deal went through. The cities and states in the Northeast resisted this purchase greatly. With the purchase not only was land gained, another 100,000 people became US citizens. These people had different customs, language, religion, and government understanding. This angered the people because they would have less power, and comfort than they had the rest of their life living in the country. From their prospective they were just letting in random foreigners who had no grasp on democracy.
The Louisiana Purchase had many affects on the country. One of the most clear results of the Louisiana purchase was that the size of the US was doubled, making it a world power with a larger population. The US also now had control of the New Orleans port allowing for more of a trade flow, and economic growth. They also gained control of many other waterways that could also be used as ports for trade. Another result that is not forgotten is that many natives were forced to assimilate or move farther

Show More
Related

  • Why Is The Louisiana Purchase Important In American History

    822 Words  | 4 Pages

    In United States history, there were many events that occurred during Thomas Jefferson’s presidency. One of those events was the Louisiana Purchase. The Louisiana Purchase was when the president of the United States at the time, Thomas Jefferson, purchased the Louisiana Territory from France, who was ruled by Napolean Bonaparte. The Louisiana Purchase was important to the country’s history and growth for multiple reasons. The improvement of trading and the agrarian system along with the allowance of the Lewis & Clark Expedition are all examples of this.

    Read More

  • Essay On Did Jefferson Decided To Buy New Orleans

    169 Words  | 1 Pages

    The two men negotiated with Talleyrand, the French foreign minister. At first he showed no interest in what they were offering him. Losing Haiti caused him to give up his plan for an empire in the Americas. He needed money to pay for his costly wars in Europe. He then asked Livingston if the United States wanted to buy all of Louisiana, and not just New Orleans.

    Read More

  • Manifest Destiny Dbq

    226 Words  | 1 Pages

    Louisiana was bought from France for $15 million and doubled the land mass of US. Parts of Arizona and New Mexico was bought for $10 million from Mexico. Britain ceded parts of North Dakota and Minnesota to US in 1818. Lastly, treaties

    Read More

  • Summary: The Louisiana Purchase

    334 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Louisiana Purchase Dear Editor: I think that Thomas Jefferson and the United States Government should buy the port of New Orleans because they need the get the port so that we can trade and expand the United States. One of the vast reasons that we bought the hefty territory was that we wanted total control of the New Orleans port so we could further our trade. We wanted to be in total control of the port because they stopped our trade and we needed to import and export goods. Another reason was the we wanted the port so we could trade whenever and no one could stop out trade.

    Read More

  • Essay On The Embargo Act Of 1977 Dbq

    875 Words  | 4 Pages

    Also, Jefferson completely ignored his original views when confronted with the purchase of the Louisiana Territory. The Louisiana Territory was a large mass of land acquired from France in 1803. Napoleon wanted to sell the land due to the fact that he no longer saw the possibility of a French Empire in North America, so he planned on selling it to the United States. Jefferson completely agreed to the purchase. However, many saw this as unconstitutional as the Constitution does not explicitly allow the government to purchase foreign

    Read More

  • Thomas Jefferson's Compromises

    505 Words  | 3 Pages

    Jefferson knew it was a good buy, in contrary, he would have to break his anti-alliances policy in order to defeat Napoleon and his army. He proposed to make an alliance with Britain against France to secure New Orleans. Once Louisiana was ceded by the United States by signing three treaties for $15 million, Thomas Jefferson the strict constructionist was conflicted. He did not want to break the constitution where it says the president is authorized to obtain treaties with a large expanse into the union. The expanse was filled with diverse inhabitants, he ensured that American experiment in democracy would be beneficial.

    Read More

  • Thomas Jefferson Dbq Essay

    555 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the 1790's Thomas Jefferson was an advocate of States' rights. He has also criticized Federalist policies. Upon his inauguration, Thomas Jefferson was very eager to implement his Democratic-Republican views into the U.S. Government. Jefferson however, turned out to be awfully contradictory to his views before stepping into office. Jefferson altered his views for the future of the young nation.

    Read More

  • Louisiana Purchase 1800s

    251 Words  | 2 Pages

    Also, The purchase is considered the land deal of the millennium. During the 1800’s the U.S started growing very quickly and needed

    Read More

  • Thomas Jefferson And The Louisiana Purchase

    1468 Words  | 6 Pages

    It was a less cost than expected and for a vast amount of land. The U.S. secured the Mississippi River for free usage to transport goods to markets, and not only that this led to Jefferson authorizing and funding the Lewis & Clark Expedition, which proved to be a good thing because we learned so much about the territory they explored. The river not only made trade easier in Louisiana but all over the country. After the purchase, America had complete control of the river without interference from France or Spain. That is the major benefit of the Louisiana purchase.

    Read More

  • Research Paper On Louisiana Purchase

    186 Words  | 1 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of The Louisiana Purchase Treaty

    119 Words  | 1 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Louisiana Purchase Essay

    378 Words  | 2 Pages

    1. I think that some reasons that america had intrest in buying some or all of the Louisiana Territory are that they want to expand their land, get new resources form the land, and use the Mississippi river for trade an transportation. 2. Based on what I already know about this period in US history, I think that some consequences of the Louisiana Purchase would be that the US could be in debt after it, the natives could retaliate, and the new part could feel separated from the rest of the country. I think that the US could be in debt after the purchase because we are still a new-ish country and we have been trying to aviod war because of the cost.

    Read More

  • Dbq On Louisiana Purchase

    368 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Document A: Alexander Hamilton, it states, “The purchase of New Orleans is essential to the peace and prosperity of out Western country, and opens a free and valuable market to our commercial states.” This means that if it wasn’t for the Louisiana Purchase that the United States wouldn’t be a

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Lewis And Clark

    777 Words  | 4 Pages

    Lewis and Clark Some might know about the Louisiana Purchase and Lewis and Clark's expedition but do you know how it benefited the U.S. besides just doubling our size? Well, Lewis and Clark traveled to the United States that achieved mapping out new uncharted territory and advancing the U.S. medical prowess. Officially starting such a journey for Lewis and Clark, the French sold all the land west of the Mississippi river in 1803 totaling around 15 million dollars and 530 million acres of land, this purchase doubled the size of the U.S. at the time. Such a purchase included 15 states (Louisiana, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, and Minnesota.) The French sold Louisiana

    Read More

  • Jefferson's Dilemma In The Louisiana Purchase

    1057 Words  | 5 Pages

    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.

    Read More

More about Essay On Thomas Jefferson Land Purchase

Open Document