The Lewis and Clark expedition followed shortly thereafter. The former slaves fought the French forces to a standstill while yellow fever and malaria outbreaks decimated the French invaders. The Louisiana Purchase was a land purchase made by President Thomas Jefferson in 1803. The risk of another power taking it from a weakened Spain made a "profound reconsideration" of this policy necessary. France ceded the territory to Spain in 1762 in the secret Treaty of Fontainebleau. When Napoleon rose to power he recommitted to recapture the colony of Saint Domingue (Haiti) and sent tens of thousands of troops in 1802 to crush the rebellion. As for France, it never seriously established a colonial presence in the Americas again. Furthermore, the Spanish prime minister had authorized the U.S. to negotiate with the French government "the acquisition of territories which may suit their interests." Spain procrastinated until late 1802 in executing the treaty to transfer Louisiana to France, which allowed American hostility to build. Spain turned the territory over to France in a ceremony in New Orleans on November 30, a month before France turned it over to American officials. The Louisiana Purchase proved popular with white Americans, who were hungry for more western lands to settle. From March 10 to September 30, 1804, Upper Louisiana was supervised as a military district, under its first civil commandant, Amos Stoddard, who was appointed by the War Department. 730 Words3 Pages. On April 30, 1803, representatives of the United States and Napoleonic France conclude negotiations for the Louisiana Purchase, a massive land sale that doubles the size of the young American republic. He bought the Louisiana territory from France, which was being led by Napoleon Bonaparte at the time, for 15,000,000 USD. The . While 3-4 cents an acre was not a massive deal, from Napoleon's perspective he received a large sum of money for land he had just received and had virtually no control over. The first Europeans to reach. "[19] On July 4, 1803, the treaty was announced,[20] but the documents did not arrive in Washington, D.C. until July 14. Ambassador who was sent to France to negotiate the purchase of the Louisiana Territory. II, Sec. "The district of Louisiana changed to the territory of Louisiana". JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/2123552. As a result, the State Department describes how the president began military preparations along the Mississippi and sent James Monroe to France with authorization to buy New Orleans and West Florida for up to $10 million. In 1791, influenced by the ideals of the French Revolution, a slave revolt broke out on Saint-Domingue. Pinckney's Treaty, signed with Spain on October 27, 1795, gave American merchants "right of deposit" in New Orleans, granting them use of the port to store goods for export. all of the above This was possible because the Louisiana territory did not only encompass Louisiana as the state that exists today. Many Southern slaveholders feared that acquisition of the new territory might inspire American-held slaves to follow the example of those in Saint-Domingue and revolt. Who sold the Louisiana Territory to the Jefferson? This was emphasized when in the memoir of Franois Barb-Marbois, Napoleon gave up his claim to the territory saying, "Irresolution and deliberation are no longer in season. Jefferson's philosophical consistency was in question because of his strict interpretation of the Constitution. They wanted the U.S. government to establish laws allowing slavery in the newly acquired territory so they could be supported in taking their slaves there to undertake new agricultural enterprises, as well as to reduce the threat of future slave rebellions. Why would France decide to give up such a crucial territory for only $15 million, or the bargain basement price of 3-4 cents an acre? While this strategy was successful at first, by 1803, disease and heavy casualties forced the French to withdraw. With a $15 million investment, the United States acquired more than 800,000 acres, almost doubling the country's land holdings. As a result, Thomas Jefferson instructed James Monroe and Robert Livingston to purchase New Orleans in 1802. Brown University explains that Saint-Domingue created a tax revenue base of 1 billion livres and exported up to 170 million livres into France on an annual basis. Everybody who has taken grade-school history knows the story. Without the profits from Saint-Domingue, it did not make sense to try to defend the sprawling Louisiana Territory, and Napoleon was worried about the British. [42] In the final agreement, the value of the U.S. currency was set at .mw-parser-output .sfrac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .sfrac.tion,.mw-parser-output .sfrac .tion{display:inline-block;vertical-align:-0.5em;font-size:85%;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .sfrac .num,.mw-parser-output .sfrac .den{display:block;line-height:1em;margin:0 0.1em}.mw-parser-output .sfrac .den{border-top:1px solid}.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px}5+3333/10000 francs per U.S. When it came to profit and geopolitical importance, Napoleon was far more interested in the Caribbean. Francis Scott Key. [52] If the territory included all the tributaries of the Mississippi on its western bank, the northern reaches of the purchase extended into the equally ill-defined British possessionRupert's Land of British North America, now part of Canada. He also realized that with Britain's superior naval power, it would be relatively easy for them to take Louisiana at will. Besides, we may hereafter expect rivalries among the members of the Union. Acquisition of Louisiana was a long-term goal of President Thomas Jefferson, who was especially eager to gain control of the crucial Mississippi River port of New Orleans. Washington University in St. Louis Press. This situation would further expand and strengthen the British empireNapoleons worst-case scenario. The Louisiana Purchase extended United States sovereignty across the Mississippi River, nearly doubling the nominal size of the country. Native Americans way of life was forever changed by the unrelenting encroachment of American settlers. Alain Chappet, Roger Martin, Alain Pigeard. [citation needed]. Lucien said that the legislative chambers of the French government would not approve it, to which Napoleon replied that he would do it without their consent. Even in 1803, that was dirt cheap. Would that make the United States too powerful? French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte ultimately sold the Louisiana territory to the United States for four reasons: the French government needed money, an impending war with Great Britain, the fallout from the Haitian Revolution, and the difficulty in maintaining a North American colony. When the United States found out that instead of Spain as their neighbor, it was to be France under Napoleon with imperial ambitions, the Americans feared that their access to the Mississippi would be cut off. The Federalists strongly opposed the purchase, favoring close relations with Britain over closer ties to Napoleon. How was the Louisiana Territory acquired? ", This page was last edited on 5 February 2023, at 06:28. How did the purchase of the Louisiana territory benefit the United States? Your email address will not be published. The Lewis and Clark expedition followed shortly thereafter. Regardless of its legality, Smithsonian Magazine details how in order to finance the transaction, several British banks actually bought the territory and turned it over to the United States in exchange for bonds at 6% interest. [14][15] The total of $15million is equivalent to about $337million in 2021 dollars, or 64 cents per acre. Browman, David L (2018). Napoleon's brothers, Lucien and Joseph, objected, thinking it a black mark on France's reputation and glory. Plans were also set forth for several missions to explore and chart the territory, the most famous being the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The question of what to do with the territory brought out deep divisions along sectional lines and ultimately helped lead to the Civil War. Desperate to avoid possible war with France, Jefferson sent James Monroe to Paris in 1803 to negotiate a settlement, with instructions to go to London to negotiate an alliance if the talks in Paris failed. [5], Following the establishment of the United States, the Americans controlled the area east of the Mississippi and north of New Orleans. What's more, as described by Medium, the French ruler believed that a more powerful United States was better for France. Mexico. Jefferson justified the purchase by rationalizing, "it is the case of a guardian, investing the money of his ward in purchasing an important adjacent territory; & saying to him when of age, I did this for your good." Louisiana Territory Changes Hands In 1796, Spain allied itself with France, leading. To Napoleon's line of thinking, if the United States took control of Louisiana, then it would deny Britain the opportunity of conquering it. Since 1762, Spain had owned the territory of Louisiana, which included 828,000 square miles. President Jefferson's Secretary of the Treasury. pp. Many people believed that he and others, including James Madison, were doing something they surely would have argued against with Alexander Hamilton. [citation needed], In Saint-Domingue, Leclerc's forces took Louverture prisoner, but their expedition soon faltered in the face of fierce resistance and disease. leader of the Democratic-Republican Party, sold Louisiana Territory to the United States, The first capital of the United States was Washington, D.C. As tensions in Europe continued to grow, the unprofitable territory seemed to be more of a liability than asset. The rest was history. Ambitions ruined, the French forces admitted defeat and returned home. [42] In October 1803, the U.S. Treasury had some $5.86 million in specie on hand, $2 million of which would be used to pay a portion of the debts assumed from France as part of the purchase. Who sold the Louisiana Territory to the United states? Slaves were routinely terrorized in a race-based social order. Difficulty in Maintaining Louisiana Territory, timeline of the history of the United States, Understanding the Significance of the 1793 Proclamation of Neutrality, The Significance of the 1775 Olive Branch Petition, The Significance of the Corrupt Bargain Election of 1824, The Significance of the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions. Interested in reaching out? miles of land for fifteen million dollars. Napoleon Bonaparte used the cash to finance his war efforts, but he was finally and permanently defeated at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. History in Charts is a website dedicated to writing about historical topics and diving deeper into the data behind different events, time periods, places, and people. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 was a temporary solution. As the United States spread across the Appalachians, the Mississippi River became an increasingly important conduit for the produce of America's West (which at that time referred to the . Louisiana Purchase, western half of the Mississippi River basin purchased in 1803 from France by the United States; at less than three cents per acre for 828,000 square miles (2,144,520 square km), it was the greatest land bargain in U.S. history. This land needed to be explored to see what the United States had purchased. France The Federalists even tried to prove the land belonged to Spain, not France, but available records proved otherwise. To France, it was a backwater sort of like owning Mediterranean Avenue in Monopoly. However, Livingston was certain that the United States would accept the offer.[16]. [6] The territory nominally remained under Spanish control, until a transfer of power to France on November 30, 1803, just three weeks before the formal cession of the territory to the United States on December 20, 1803.[7]. 5057. Napoleon foresaw the United States as a future ally that could one day match Britain in might. First, as mentioned before, France needed more money for the impending war and to concentrate its resources on Europe. Ultimately, the French need for more money was a significant factor in Napoleons decision to sell Louisiana. Spain Originally governed New Orleans and the Louisiana Territory up until 1802, but then transferred ownership to France under a secret treaty. While the dreams of colonial domination evaporated, Napoleon turned his attention towards establishing an empire across the European continent instead. [23], After Monroe and Livingston had returned from France with news of the purchase, an official announcement of the purchase was made on July 4, 1803. Through the Louisiana Purchase, the United States' territory doubled at once. As a result, Napoleon's view of Louisiana transformed from that of an outpost to that of a poker chip, ready to cash in. As described by History, under the leadership of Toussaint Louverture, the enslaved allied with nonwhite free people and successfully overthrew the slave order, taking control of all of Hispaniola, not just Saint-Domingue. Overcoming the opposition of the Federalist Party, Jefferson and Secretary of State James Madison persuaded Congress to ratify and fund the Louisiana Purchase. How many amendments make up the Bill of Rights? Washington set a precedent by serving ______ terms as President. In a letter, Thomas Jefferson wrote that France's repossession of the territory "is the embryo of a tornado which will burst on the countries on both shores of the Atlantic and involve in it's effects their highest destinies.". sold the Louisiana Territory to the United States. [45] In 2021 dollars, the $15 million purchase price is equivalent to $336.92million. He stood up and then splashed back down into the water so heavily that his brothers got soaked. This was particularly true in the area of the present-day state of Louisiana, which also contained a large number of free people of color. Southern Quarterlynotes, "What is often remembered as a remarkably 'peaceful' transfer of land was in fact predicated on events of enormous violence that took place in the Caribbean.". Majority Leader John Randolph led the opposition. I renounce Louisiana. On January 1, 1804, Haiti declared its independence. Barings relayed to order to Hopes, which declined to comply, allowing the final payments to be made to France in April 1804. [17] The signers were Robert Livingston, James Monroe, and Franois Barb-Marbois. Napoleon Bonaparte sold the land because he needed money for the Great French War. [34] The United States Senate advised and consented to ratification of the treaty with a vote of twenty-four to seven on October 20. Livingston and Monroe were only authorized to spend up to $10 million for the purchase of New Orleans and West Florida. He was assisted by James Monroe. On April 11, 1803, just days before Monroe's arrival, Barb-Marbois offered Livingston all of Louisiana for $15million,[13] which averages to less than three cents per acre (7/ha). True False, Federalists believed in a strict following of the Constitution exactly as it was worded. He could not or did not see the value in sending troops to defend worthless Louisiana, not with Saint-Domingue out of the equation. The United States was leery of Frances intentions with the territory, and the port city of New Orleans was critical to the US economy.2. Napoleon reported told his Minister of Finance Barbe-Marbois in reference to the Louisiana territory: Second, selling the Louisiana territory to the United States could strengthen the nation and thus provide a counterweight against their British foes. That leads to the question as to why on Earth would France sell so much land, or at least the rights to it 828,000 acres for what amounted to 4 cents an acre? [33][35], When Spain later objected to the United States purchasing Louisiana from France, Madison responded that America had first approached Spain about purchasing the property but had been told by Spain itself that America would have to treat with France for the territory.[36]. While Napoleons reasons were valid, his decision to sell the Louisiana territory certainly came as a surprise. Why is France sold the Louisiana Purchase to the US? [59] In 1808 two military forts with trading factories were built, Fort Osage along the Missouri River in western present-day Missouri and Fort Madison along the Upper Mississippi River in eastern present-day Iowa. National Geographicpoints out that in modern dollars, the Louisiana Purchase would have cost $342 million. explored the Louisiana Territory and points west. 2), which is just what Jefferson did. sold Louisiana Territory to the United States Marcus Whitman missionary family in Oregon Pennsylvania had a Whiskey Rebellion tariff tax on imported goods Cabinet President's team of workers Dolley Madison saved White House treasures Zebulon Pike explored the Louisiana Territory olive branch symbol of peace Francis Scott Key [42], Although the War of the Third Coalition, which brought France into a war with the United Kingdom, began before the purchase was completed, the British government initially allowed the deal to proceed as it was better for the neutral Americans to own the territory than the hostile French. Jefferson sent Livingston to Paris in 1801[9] with the authorization to purchase New Orleans. The Louisiana Purchase was a significant event of monumental proportions in the history of the United States. 4 and 7. successful French demand for an indemnity, Indian Territory Indian Reserve and Louisiana Purchase, Foreign affairs of the Jefferson administration, Territorial evolution of the United States, Territories of the United States on stamps, "The True Cost of the Louisiana Purchase", "Congressional series of United States public documents", "Milestones: 18011829 Office of the Historian", "3 Of The Most Lucrative Land Deals In History", "Primary Documents of American History: Louisiana Purchase", "America's Louisiana Purchase: Noble Bargain, Difficult Journey", "The Louisiana Purchase: Jefferson's constitutional gamble", National Archives and Records Administration, "Aspecten van de Geschiedenis van Hope & Co en van Gelieerde Ondernemingen", "Convention Between the United States of America and the French Republic (Article III)", "Statutes & Constitution :Constitution: Online Sunshine", "Slave Freedom Suits before Dred Scott: The Case of Marie Jean Scypion's Descendants", Case and Controversies in U.S. History, Page 42, Territorial expansion of the United States, Acquisition of the Northern Mariana Islands (1986), A Summary View of the Rights of British America, Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms, Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness, Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, 1777 draft and 1786 passage, Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, Plan for Establishing Uniformity in the Coinage, Weights, and Measures of the United States, Proposals for concerted operation among the powers at war with the Pyratical states of Barbary, Jefferson manuscript collection at the Massachusetts Historical Society, Member, Virginia Committee of Correspondence, Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression, Thomas Jefferson Star for Foreign Service, Washington and Jefferson National Forests, Louisiana Purchase Exposition gold dollar, Memorial to the 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence, Notes of Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787, Constitution drafting and ratification timeline, Co-author, George Washington's Farewell Address, 1789 Virginia's 5th congressional district election, James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation, James Madison Freedom of Information Award, James Monroe Law Office, Museum, and Memorial Library, The Capture of the Hessians at Trenton, December 26, 1776, United States Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Jefferson Memorial Committee of Five pediment, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Louisiana_Purchase&oldid=1137551974, States and territories established in 1803, States and territories disestablished in 1804, Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from February 2015, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2021, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2022, Pages using Sister project links with hidden wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Gleijeses, Piero.

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