Thomas Jefferson's Moral Dilemmas: The Louisiana Purchase

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

Throughout American History, slavery has always posed as a problem in the United States from 1776 to 1852. Slavery grew dramatically when the country acquired new territory as a result of foreign wars, like the Mexican War. Even though there are many reasons why there was a growing opposition to slavery in the United States from 1776 to 1852, the growing opposition of slavery was caused by the country gaining new land as a result of wars and events like the Compromise of 1850 and the Second- Great Awakening which led to the development of new books and newspaper articles.

Thomas Jefferson’s purchase of the Louisiana Territory changed the United States. In 1803 Jefferson bought the Territory from France. Before Jefferson bought the territory, he tried seven times to acquire the land from France but failed. Once the territory was bought, he immediately got together an exploration team led by Lewis and Clark. They were accompanied by other helpers like sacajawea to navigate and map the land. The reason for their exploration was to find and map a way to the pacific, establish relationships the people in the territory and to learn

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. The land mass was first claimed by france, ceded to Spain in 1762, and then ceded back to France nearly 40 years later.

There were both positive and negative components of westward expansion from 1800 to 1875. By the late of 1800s, the land of the United States was mostly purchased. In seventy five years, the United States continuously expanded westward, which was encouraged by the idea of Manifest Destiny. New land in the United States led to more economic, social, and political opportunities. Gaining more land also led to disputes between the states and wars with other countries. Between 1800 and 1875, America continuously expanded westward through the acquisition of new land; there were both favorable and unfavorable consequences and outcomes of westward expansion.

America is popularly known for its fifty states that span across the North American content. All the states are governed by autonomous state governments that are all under the central authority of federal government. The history of how America came to unite the fifty states is fascinating considering that the means of acquisition of these states were not similar. The content of this paper will compare and contrast the acquisition of two major territories by the United States commonly known as the Louisiana Purchase and the Mexican Cession.

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

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.

Thomas Jefferson always viewed slavery as a “moral depravity and a hideous blot.”(5) Jefferson felt it also was a great threat to the nation 's survival and opposing the laws of nature, which every person had the right liberty. When the American Revolution was taking place, Jefferson was connected with the legislation in hopes it result in abolishment of slavery. In his attempts to abolish slavery Jefferson drafted the Virginia law in 1778 “that prohibited the importation of enslaved Africans.”(6) In 1784 he also “proposed in an ordinance that would ban slavery in the Northwest territories.”(7) These were steps towards the abolishment of slavery, but for it to be successful it had to part of a democratic process Jefferson believed. It would take something like the Emancipation Proclamation to make his beliefs come true.

In regards the role of the early presidents in the growth of the nation, their actions had a positive outcome on the growth of the United States and its people. In regards the role of the early Presidents in the growth of the nation, their actions have a positive outcome on the growth of the United States and its people. For instance, the decision President Thomas Jefferson made about purchasing the Louisiana territory had a tremendous effect on the growth of the United States and its people. This can be seen in Document 1 by Joseph Harris, How the Louisiana Purchase Changed in the World 2003, which states "With the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, this is one of the three things that created the modern United States," says

To many people it is a strong belief the Lewis and Clark expedition was a threat against the american indians and wildlife and caused the start of their removal, but I believe that what happened to the american indians had to happen in order to expand our country. The Lewis and Clark expedition explored the Louisiana purchase bought from the French in 1803 after the French failed their dream of a new empire. Current president Thomas Jefferson was asked by the French to buy a considerable amount of land for a very cheap price when the french had entered a rough patch of financial issues. The land was bought by Thomas Jefferson who had no idea what or really even who was living there besides the american indians. Thomas Jefferson decided to send explorers

This stalemate brought on another revision to the constitution where it was proposed to vote separately for President and Vice. This was known as the 12th amendment which was ratified in 1804. Jefferson served as the 3rd president of the United States and served for two terms. He was sworn into office in 1808 as the first to ever be sworn in at Washington D.C. His biggest achievement as president was accomplished during his first term where he was able to successfully achieve the Louisiana Purchase. He was able to purchase more than 800,000 square miles from France for only $15 million dollars. He was able to acquire this land from Napoleon Bonaparte, the French ruler at the time, due to the ongoing chaos happening to France such as the slave revolt in Haiti and the threat of war with Britain. (History.com Staff) After this purchase, he pushed for the Lewis and Clark expedition to commence. This voyage was to assess the new property they had just acquired and to explore the prospects for military, commercial, and oceanic aspects of the land. Although it was discovered that the imaginary water route that many had envisioned turned out to be just that, imaginary, invaluable information was discovered during this trip in terms of scientific research. Without Jefferson, many of this might not have been accomplished and we might be living differently today if it were not for him.

The Federalists obviously opposed the Louisiana Purchase for political reasons, not practical because they hated Thomas Jefferson. "I am disgusted with the men who now rule us. The coward at the head [Jefferson] is like a French Revolutionary," (Pickering, 1803) stated Timothy Pickering in a letter to Rufus King. This shows, clearly, that federalists only care about opposing Thomas Jefferson, not opposing the Louisiana Purchase. Most federalists, although some had very good reasons for opposing the constitution, only cared about hatred for Mr. Jefferson and with that hatred for all of his ideas. This evidently shows that the Federalists opposed the constitution for political reasons, not

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. What's more

President Thomas Jefferson desired to purchase New Orleans and the surrounding territory, which later took the name known as the Louisiana Territory, from the French in order to secure trading routes for the United States. He wanted to prevent any disruption in American economics that would come from disrupted trade. Jefferson, was aware of the need for action and he was concerned with the threat of disunion. Jefferson in January of 1803, recommended that James Monroe join Livingston