The Louisiana Purchase

Describe the events leading to the acquire of the Louisiana Territory in 1803. talk of the terms of the treaty and how Jefferson reconciled his strict interpretation of the Constitution with the acquisition of the land. Before the Louisiana purchase in 1803, the entire Louisiana territory covered what is today known as the Midwest. The purchase of the record was a monumental step in the expansion of the join States. Thomas Jefferson became the 2nd president of the United States in 1800 and assumed control in 1801.He envisioned a society of independent farmers that were free from the restraints of industrial towns and the mobs of European cities (Brinkley p. 181). In 1763, France lost control of the Louisiana Territory to Great Britain. Under the Treaty of San Ildefonso in 1800, France regained control of Louisiana in an acquisition that Napoleon Bonaparte hoped would become the heart of the great french empire in America (Brinkley p. 200). Napoleon envision a cut empire that would control untold of the trade and establish French dominance in the New World.All was not well within the French empire though African slaves in San Domingo would revolt under the leadership of Toussaint LOuverture in the westerly Indies. Napoleon would have to send an army to restore order in the Indies. This revolt was but the get down of the problems of Napoleon realizing his ambitions in America (Brinkley p. 200). Thomas Jefferson had begun to reconsider his association with France after he wise to(p) of the enigmatical treaty in which France regained Louisiana.Jefferson had become even more alarmed in the fall of 1802 when he learned that the Spanish intendant who controlled the Louisiana Territory had announced a new regulation (Brinkley p. 200). American vessels had long employ the Mississippi River as a supply bridle-path to get cargo to New Orleans in order to load ocean bound ships for export. The new regulation revealed by the Spanish forbade the use of the rou te effectively shutting down the lower Mississippi. Upon learning of the new regulation, Jefferson sent his French ambassador to perform the purchase of New Orleans (Brinkley p. 00). His ambassador, Robert Livingston, took it upon himself to try and purchase the majority of western Louisiana as well. speckle Livingston was trying to acquire Louisiana, Jefferson had persuaded Congress to appropriate funds to expand the army and the construction of a river eliminate (Brinkley p. 200). Jefferson wanted to give the illusion that the US had partnered with the British if the problems with France were not resolved soon. Shortly afterward, Napoleon decided to accept the United States offer to purchase Louisiana.On April 30, 1803, James Monroe and Richard Livingston signed the agreement with France for the purchase. The United States purchased Louisiana from the French for $80,000,000 francs ($15mil US. ). The US also had to promise certain exclusive commercial privileges to France and t o incorporate its residents into the Union (Brinkley p. 201). The agreement tell that Louisiana would occupy the same extent as it had when France and Spain had controlled it (Brinkley p. 202).Thomas Jefferson was pleased with the acquisition of Louisiana but was unsealed if he possessed the authority to accept the agreement terms. He was convinced by his advisors that with this treaty reservation power under the Constitution, that his acceptance of the agreement was justified. In 1803, the French assumed control of Louisiana from Spain and this instant transferred the rights to the territory to the United States. Louisiana was admitted into the Union as a recognized state in 1812. Brinkley p. 202) The purchase of Louisiana was a major step in the development of the Midwestern United States. Gaining control of the territory from France helped the United States regain the power to transport goods down the Mississippi River to get to the port of New Orleans. This was a big deal to the United States as New Orleans was the focal point of moving goods crossways the ocean for export.Bibliography Brinkley, A. (2007). American History A Survey. Boston McGraw Hill.