ipl-logo

Jefferson's Decision To Purchase The Louisiana Territory

468 Words2 Pages

The Louisiana Purchase was one of the largest land deals in history. In 1803, the United States paid approximately $15 million dollars for over 800,000 square miles of land from the French who originally owned it. This land deal was one of the greatest achievements of Thomas Jefferson 's presidency because it more than doubled the size of the United States at a time when the nation 's population growth began to quicken.
Jefferson’s decision to buy the Louisiana Territory doubled the size of the U.S., and its borders went from the Atlantic Ocean merged to the Rocky Mountains, north to Canada, and south to the boundary with Spanish Florida. This gave the U.S. complete control of the Mississippi River as previously France had rights to the …show more content…

boundaries, but it also forced migration of the Native Americans and the people of the lands made the natives get kicked out without a say because of the new land people started coming in and pushing the people out. This was a big problem to the natives because they had nowhere to go.

Fourth, Jefferson’s decision to buy the Louisiana Territory impacted trade by helping to secure the port of New Orleans and the use of the Mississippi river for us and helped/expanded westward trade.

Fifth, Jefferson’s decision to buy the Louisiana Territory impacted economics by gaining western half of richest river valley, laid foundations for future major powers, supported Jefferson’s idea for a “great agrarian society” (democratic republican / anti-federalist party goal), by establishing precedents for future expansion: the acquisition of foreign territory and peoples by purchase and their incorporation into the union not as vassal states but on a basis of equal membership (democratic imperialism), getting complete control of Mississippi River and Delta, and getting natural

Show More
Related

  • How Did Thomas Morgan Support Westward Expansion

    678 Words  | 3 Pages

    Jefferson along with many of Americans wanted the expedition to start so he tried many times and made many sacrifices for it to be started. Thomas and Jefferson had tried many times to get the journey started to explore westward but everyone he sent before Lewis and Clark had died so he did not want to start another expedition but America needed to expand and needed the resources that could have been westward so he allowed Lewis to start the expedition. The north and the south had different views of what the new land westward could be used for, the majority of the south said, “They looked to west for new and cheaper lands, especially in the rich virgin soil beyond the mountains.” and the north also said, “western empire could serve as a vast reservation for the Indians displaced from the east of the river. There they could learn to farm and become civilized, so that they could be incorporated into the body of the politic.”

    Read More

  • How Did Livingston Purchase The Louisiana Territory

    311 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Louisiana Purchase And Thomas Jefferson's Moral Dilemma

    818 Words  | 4 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Western Expansion And Its Effects On The Lives Of Native Americans

    394 Words  | 2 Pages

    After the Civil War ended many people were in hope of finding land since population was increasing. Since the West was underdeveloped and uncivilized, many decided to expand the land. First the Louisiana Purchase increased the opportunity of expansion. Then industrialization and the Homestead Act also caused many companies encouraged to move West due to the low cost of land and that the transportation was provided through the railroads. In order to complete such goals, something had to be done with the Natives since it conflicted with their home area.

    Read More

  • The American System Analysis

    941 Words  | 4 Pages

    Under the American System, Clay had four principles: the improvement and development of the system of roads and canals through federal financing that would connect New Orleans to the Canadian border to expand the country’s market; the insulation of the domestic industries and businesses through a protective tariff; the efforts towards having a stable currency through re-chartering the Bank of the United States; and sourcing of public financing through the sale of public lands at higher prices (Heidler & Heidler, 2011). Even though Clay’s system received opposition during the era of the Jacksonian Democracy, it would subsequently be revitalized after the end of the civil war long after his death in 1852. The American System would play a crucial role in fueling the Manifest Destiny belief that saw great economic development in the

    Read More

  • Essay On Thomas Jefferson's Campaign Of Liberty

    496 Words  | 2 Pages

    An example of this would be the Lousiana Purchase. Jefferson worried that French control of that port city endangered American commerce on the Mississippi River. Shutting down American access to New Orleans would cause American settlers, west of the Appalachian Mountains, to lose all access to eastern markets. So when an unexpected offer arose offering not just the city of New Orleans but land stretching all the way from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains for $15 million, the American delegation jumped at the offer. Though they lacked confidence that a purchase of this sort was even constitutional, the offer was simply too good to refuse.

    Read More

  • Research Paper On Louisiana Purchase

    186 Words  | 1 Pages

    The land mass was first claimed by france, ceded to Spain in 1762, and then ceded back to France nearly 40 years later. History in unclear whether France first offered it to the U.S. or the U.S. showed interest in it to buy it from France. In a Note to U.S. minister Robert Livingston, Thomas jefferson, The Third President said “The day that France takes possession of New Orleans…we must marry ourselves

    Read More

  • Louisiana Purchase

    846 Words  | 4 Pages

    Now on the pro side of this historical event, this would mean we would get full access of the Mississippi River which meant several things during this time period. Before Jefferson made this purchase, the New Orleans port and the southern part of the Mississippi River was owned by the French. The French were never to friendly about these ports and rumors had it that the French were going to heavily tax any goods or shipments that went through their ports, if not completely shut them down. This would make transporting merchandise from merchants on the western side of the Appalachian Mountains very hard to get to Europe. If the ports really would close, the shipping route would have to become over the Appalachians.

    Read More

  • Westward Expansion: The Louisiana Purchase Of 1803

    986 Words  | 4 Pages

    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. Westward expansion was one of the ideas that was thought to bring economic boost, and the very first westward expansion was the Louisiana Purchase of 1803.

    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

  • Dbq On Louisiana Purchase

    368 Words  | 2 Pages

    Also, with the control of the Mississippi river we could now have stronger trade and be able to use the Mississippi river for different things. This evidence supports that it was a very smart move that the United States decided to make the Louisiana Purchase with France. To conclude, the Louisiana Purchase was a very smart move by the United States because this allowed many positive thing to happen. First, it allowed the western country to have peace and prosperity mainly with the Indians and opened a free and valuable market. Second, it doubled the size of the United States making it a bigger and stronger nation.

    Read More

  • Westward Expansion 1800 To 1875 Dbq Analysis

    1333 Words  | 6 Pages

    One positive aspect of acquiring land was the advantages from Louisiana Purchase. In 1803, Thomas Jefferson purchased the Louisiana territory from France. Lewis and Clark described the land they saw and told Jefferson details about the interactions with the Indians, the landscape, and the creatures of the western world. Maps Clark made throughout the journey were later used to navigate the new terrioty. (Doc A)

    Read More

  • Louisiana Purchase Vs Louisiana Cession

    655 Words  | 3 Pages

    Discussion The Louisiana Purchase is a term that is commonly used to reference the acquisition of the expansive Louisiana land by the U.S. from the French authorities back in the year 1803. The U.S.

    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

  • Compare And Contrast Clark And Louisiana Purchase

    365 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

More about Jefferson's Decision To Purchase The Louisiana Territory

Open Document