The Louisiana Purchase

The Louisiana Purchase in 1803 is thought to be the greatest “real estate” deal in history. It was an experiment to incorporate different cultures to become one frontier.

It changed what the United States had been at the time as well as what it could become. It was a territory between the Mississippi river and the Rocky Mountains. It was originally populated by the Native Americans in the South East until the Europeans. They started exploring the area and in 1 682 Robert Cavalier, of France, claimed it. He named it Louisiana after their king, King Louis XIV. The French had dominated American soil for years.But in 1763 France suffered losing Florida to Britain on Spain’s behalf.

France turned control of Louisiana to Spain and after the Revolutionary War Britain turned the control of Florida to Spain too. Along the Mississippi River the Americans, Spanish, British and French all were claiming control. In 1 800 after a war period had ended France was a powerful country under the control Of Napoleon.

Napoleon was looking to exchange Louisiana for a favor from the King of Spain. He promised to never abandon the territory as well as to recognize Spain’s claims of Florida. Napoleon was already looking to expand in Europe, but he wanted Louisiana too.President Jefferson agreed to help the French with the slaves hoping that he could win over Napoleon Bonaparte.

Even though he was going to Help him he was trying to come up with his own plan along the Mississippi. By Napoleon being in Louisiana he feared that it wouldn’t help in for US interests on land or sea so Jefferson thought he might need to make an alliance with Britain. Jefferson prepared for a possible war scenario hoping he could get Napoleon bought out of New Orleans. President Jefferson sent two ministers: James Monroe and Robert Livingston o France. He sent them with money hoping to purchase New Orleans and Florida.The first negotiation went well but it took a turn for the worst when France’s secretary Charles Maurice De Talleyrand offered all of Louisiana to the United States. Monroe and Livingston recognized the value of it and moved along with it.

For about fifteen million dollars plus forgiveness of debt the Louisiana Purchase was made on April 30, 1803. The land consisted of about 800,000 miles along the Mississippi River. Napoleon Bonaparte was looking to expand his empire in Europe rather hen spreading it out all over the world, against the judgment of his friends and colleagues.Quite frankly, he considered the sale of Louisiana to be more of a lease because after he conquered Europe he wanted to conquer North and South America. America was faced with building its own empire. Based on the sale treaty of Louisiana, residents that lived there would become citizens of the United States. Jefferson was forced to pay attention to the protests from the New Englanders over the Louisiana Purchase.

They argued that to include Louisiana they would have to dissolve the Union. Each of the states had signed on to the Constitutional terms and nothing other than that.President Jefferson considered a constitutional amendment to resolved the problems. But in the end he didn’t do anything. Without admitting Louisiana as outlined in the treaty, the Federal Government had to override other arrangements. Congress wad dominated by Republican-Democrats. It provided Jefferson with executive power over the whole territory which in the end he had to have two governors control it.

Their names were James Wilkinson and William Collarbone. Neither man knew about the cultural problems but they needed to keep the population under intro.Over time the Louisiana Territory become the states of: Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Minnesota, Montana, Oklahoma, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming. About seventy five years had passed before the territory had become part of the Union. From the second it was acquired the Louisiana Territory forever changed and altered the Union. Even though Louisiana had been taken care of, the state of Florida had not been. Napoleon Bonaparte never included it when Monroe and Livingston traveled to France and then it was still in Spain’s control.

But, Spain had become weak and Jefferson wanted Florida.