The purchase doubled the size of the United States, greatly strengthened the country materially and strategically, provided a powerful impetus to . The U.S. claimed the land as far as the Perdido River, and Spain claimed that the border of its Florida Colony remained the Mississippi River. Upon word of the Louisiana territory transfer from Spain to France, some hot-headed members of Congress proposed a preemptive strike against New Orleans. Otherwise, Louisiana would be an easy prey for a potential invasion from Britain or the U.S. [62] The U.S. later built or expanded forts along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, including adding to Fort Bellefontaine, and constructing Fort Armstrong (1816) and Fort Edwards (1816) in Illinois, Fort Crawford (1816) in Wisconsin, Fort Snelling (1819) in Minnesota, and Fort Atkinson (1819) in Nebraska. According to the Library of Congress, the Louisiana Territory was mainly ignored by the French government and remained unprofitable. William Marbury. [34] The United States Senate advised and consented to ratification of the treaty with a vote of twenty-four to seven on October 20. As the lands were being gradually settled by American migrants, many Americans, including Jefferson, assumed that the territory would be acquired "piece by piece." B. felt that the United States would be the best country to manage the land. Napoleon was reported to have said of Louisiana in his treasury minister's memoir, "To attempt obstinately to retain it would be folly.". "[19] On July 4, 1803, the treaty was announced,[20] but the documents did not arrive in Washington, D.C. until July 14. According to the census of 1810, there were 20,845 Americans in the Territory of Louisiana, among whom were 3,011 slaves. Following French defeat in the Seven Years' War, Spain gained control of the territory west of the Mississippi, and the British received the territory to the east of the river. Britain B. Spain C. RussiaD. The question of what to do with the territory brought out deep divisions along sectional lines and ultimately helped lead to the Civil War. [22] In 1804 Haiti declared its independence; but fearing a slave revolt at home, Jefferson and the rest of Congress refused to recognize the new republic, the second in the Western Hemisphere, and imposed a trade embargo against it. In the early 1800s aside from the city of New Orleans, the Louisiana territory was sparsely populated. This land needed to be explored to see what the United States had purchased. But in early 1803, continuing war between France and Britain seemed unavoidable. Who was President at the time of the Louisiana Purchase? 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. War Hawks The Louisiana Purchase extended United States sovereignty across the Mississippi River, nearly doubling the nominal size of the country. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/2123552. 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. 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. The House called for a vote to deny the request for the purchase, but it failed by two votes, 5957. The key to opening the western goal was securing the Mississippi River and the Louisiana Territory. Napoleon informed his brothers of the sale and asked for their opinion. To read more on what we're all about, learn more about us here. While Napoleons reasons were valid, his decision to sell the Louisiana territory certainly came as a surprise. 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. On the following day, October 21, 1803, the Senate authorized Jefferson to take possession of the territory and establish a temporary military government. Perhaps the most important reason as to why Napoleon sold the Louisiana territory to the United States was the Haitian Revolution. The purchase originally extended just beyond the 50th parallel. leader of the Democratic-Republican Party, sold Louisiana Territory to the United States, The first capital of the United States was Washington, D.C. 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.". Washington set a precedent by serving ______ terms as President. The Louisiana Territory was established, as described by Smithsonian Magazine, in 1682, when the French explorer Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, arrived at the mouth of the Mississippi River, put up a cross and column, and declared to a group of puzzled Native Americans that the entire river basin belonged to France. This sale was made under the direction of Napoleon's government in order to help France pay for their war materials. On April 12, 1803, Franois Barb-Marbois met with the Americans. The Kingdom of France had controlled the Louisiana territory from 1699 until it was ceded to Spain in 1762. In addition, the DunbarHunter Expedition (18041805) explored the Ouachita River watershed. Throughout this time, Jefferson had up-to-date intelligence on Napoleon's military activities and intentions in North America. While 3-4 cents an acre was not a massive deal, from Napoleons perspective he received a large sum of money for land he had just received and had virtually no control over. Napoleon quipped after the Louisiana treaty: Napoleon was correct in that the Jeffersonian Democrats favored closer relations with France over Spain. a Federalist judge who wanted his commission granted. 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. Britain and France renewed hostilities on May 18, 1803, shortly after the deal was finalized. Jefferson's philosophical consistency was in question because of his strict interpretation of the Constitution. This made it difficult, when compared to Britain, to obtain the necessary money to wage large-scale wars. Check out our timeline of the history of the United States for a great place to start and navigate through American history! Today, the 31st parallel is the northern boundary of the western half of the Florida Panhandle, and the Perdido is the western boundary of Florida. [64], The purchase of the Louisiana Territory led to debates over the idea of indigenous land rights that persisted into the mid 20th century. Who sold the Louisiana Territory to the United states? However, the territory, like a regifted picture frame, was swapped among European powers. What's more, as described by Medium, the French ruler believed that a more powerful United States was better for France. [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]. In this light the deal can be seen as a win-win between Napoleon and the United States. He bought the Louisiana territory from France, which was being led by Napoleon Bonaparte at the time, for 15,000,000 USD. The American representatives were prepared to pay up to $10million for New Orleans and its environs but were dumbfounded when the vastly larger territory was offered for $15million. Without Saint Domingue, Napoleons dreams of a French colonial empire in the Americas were dashed. (80) Napoleon sold the Louisiana territory to the United States in 1803 because he hoped to increase the U. S. status against what nation?A. [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. The French ruler was just about to embark on a series of devastating wars. In the year of 1803, the Louisiana purchase occurred. He could not or did not see the value in sending troops to defend worthless Louisiana, not with Saint-Domingue out of the equation. As discussed in the Journal of Economic History, France had a historically bad reputation for credit and finance due to the upheavals of the French Revolution. Napoleon Bonaparte sold the land because he needed money for the Great French War. Where Saint Domingue would be the crown jewel with its lucrative sugar plantations, Louisiana would be the bread basket supplying the empire with grains. However at the time Napoleon traded long-term potential for short-term gain. The AdamsOns Treaty with Spain resolved the issue upon ratification in 1821. ", This page was last edited on 5 February 2023, at 06:28. From the French perspective, just why did Napoleon sell the Louisiana territory to the Americans? 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." The four decades following the Louisiana Purchase was an era of court decisions removing many tribes from their lands east of the Mississippi for resettlement in the new territory, culminating in the Trail of Tears. The treaty also recognized American rights to navigate the entire Mississippi, which had become vital to the growing trade of the western territories. John Adams 2. While the transfer of the territory by Spain back to France in 1800 went largely unnoticed, fear of an eventual French invasion spread across America when, in 1801, Napoleon sent a military force to secure New Orleans. Pamela Martin In 1803, Napoleon Bonaparte surprised U.S. negotiators with an offer to sell the Louisiana Territory for approximately 4 cents per acre. [12], Although the foreign minister Talleyrand opposed the plan, on April 10, 1803, Napoleon told the Treasury Minister Franois Barb-Marbois that he was considering selling the entire Louisiana Territory to the United States. In order to lessen the strain of direct taxes on the populace, the French government simply needed more money from other sources. He wanted Saint-Domingue and its incredibly profitable sugar and coffee plantations restored and under French control, with the old system reinstated. While this was just a rumor, he had made up his mind to sell the territory. In legislation enacted on October 31, Congress made temporary provisions for local civil government to continue as it had under French and Spanish rule and authorized the President to use military forces to maintain order. [39] New Orleans was the administrative capital of the Orleans Territory, and St. Louis was the capital of the Louisiana Territory. [28], Henry Adams claimed "The sale of Louisiana to the United States was trebly invalid; if it were French property, Bonaparte could not constitutionally alienate it without the consent of the French Chambers; if it were Spanish property, he could not alienate it at all; if Spain had a right of reclamation, his sale was worthless. Please feel free to fill out our Contact Form. First, the men sent to France were allowed to spend up to 10 million USD in order to buy New Orleans and, if possible, the west bank of the . Though the strike never materialized, the United States made it clear it would act with the nations best interests in mindincluding if it came to war. Who was President at the time of the Whiskey Rebellion? Who was President at the time of the Embargo Act? Furthermore, the French had no administration over the territory and few French settlers lived on the land. How did Jefferson acquire Louisiana Territory? 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. According to the Library of Congress, Napoleon did not have enough troops to occupy Louisiana while simultaneously subduing Saint-Domingue. [61], During the War of 1812, Great Britain hoped to annex all or at least portions of the Louisiana Purchase should they successfully defeat the U.S. Aided by their Indian allies, the British defeated U.S. forces in the Upper Mississippi; the U.S. abandoned Forts Osage and Madison, as well as several other U.S. forts built during the war, including Fort Johnson and Fort Shelby. [5], Following the establishment of the United States, the Americans controlled the area east of the Mississippi and north of New Orleans. While Napoleon originally tried to sell the territory for $22 million, the two sides eventually agreed to a sale at $15 million. The . [26] The Federalists also feared that the power of the Atlantic seaboard states would be threatened by the new citizens in the West, whose political and economic priorities were bound to conflict with those of the merchants and bankers of New England. When Joseph continued to object, Napoleon shouted, "You are insolent!" The French Revolution and the Politics of Government Finance, 1770-1815. The Journal of Economic History, vol. All these soldiers needed to be fed, housed, and paid. First, an empowered United States could effectively act as a formidable rival to Britain. all of the above 3) Deutsch, Eberhard P. The Constitutional Controversy Over the Louisiana Purchase. American Bar Association Journal, vol. Ultimately, the French need for more money was a significant factor in Napoleons decision to sell Louisiana. 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. 'Sale of Louisiana') was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/25723883. See Page 1. However, one has to question whether the French ruler considered the consequences of selling France's interest in Louisiana. [25] The American purchase of the Louisiana territory was not accomplished without domestic opposition. 1803. The failed suppression of the Haitian Revolution also diverted French troops from landing in the port city of New Orleans, a near crisis averted for the United States. Many people believed that he and others, including James Madison, were doing something they surely would have argued against with Alexander Hamilton. Alarmed over the French actions and its intention to re-establish an empire in North America, Jefferson declared neutrality in relation to the Caribbean, refusing credit and other assistance to the French, but allowing war contraband to get through to the rebels to prevent France from regaining a foothold. However, France's failure to suppress a revolt in Saint-Domingue, coupled with the prospect of renewed warfare with the United Kingdom, prompted Napoleon to consider selling Louisiana to the United States. [21] The Louisiana Territory was vast, stretching from the Gulf of Mexico in the south to Rupert's Land in the north, and from the Mississippi River in the east to the Rocky Mountains in the west. 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. 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. This success stuck in Napoleon's craw. However, in 1800 Spain had ceded the Louisiana territory back to France as part of Napoleon's secret Third Treaty of San Ildefonso. The British would have likely garrisoned New Orleans and would have occupied it for a very long time because they and their ally Spain did not recognize any treaties and land deals conducted by Napoleon since 1800, especially the Louisiana Purchase. 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. The eastern boundary below the 31st parallel was unclear. American diplomats Robert Livingston and James Monroepurchased the Louisiana Territory from the French for $15 million dollars, or four cents an acre, in 1803. While the dreams of colonial domination evaporated, Napoleon turned his attention towards establishing an empire across the European continent instead. [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. In 1791, influenced by the ideals of the French Revolution, a slave revolt broke out on Saint-Domingue. When Napoleon rose to power in 1799, the French governments finances were in disarray due to the effects of the French Revolution. As told by Michigan State University, both of them were shocked when the French minister, Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand, asked how much they would pay for the entire territory. Napoleon wanted its revenues and productivity for France restored. He bought the Louisiana territory from France, which was being led by Napoleon Bonaparte at the time, for 15,000,000 USD (about $320,000,000 in 2020 dollars). Though Jefferson urged moderation, Federalists sought to use this against Jefferson and called for hostilities against France. Overcoming the opposition of the Federalist Party, Jefferson and Secretary of State James Madison persuaded Congress to ratify and fund the Louisiana Purchase. To recap, Napoleon ultimately sold the Louisiana territory for the following reasons: In hindsight it is easy for historians to criticize Napoleons decision. [27], Spain protested the transfer on two grounds: First, France had previously promised in a note not to alienate Louisiana to a third party and second, France had not fulfilled the Third Treaty of San Ildefonso by having the King of Etruria recognized by all European powers. In 1803, the United States nearly doubled in size when it bought the Louisiana Territory in a deal that shaped history. The French loss of Saint-Domingue sent a shudder through the world. The formidable British navy could easily blockade the territory and seize it for themselves. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. [14][15] The total of $15million is equivalent to about $337million in 2021 dollars, or 64 cents per acre. The first plan of government used by the United States was under the: Who was the President at the time of the Alien and Sedition Act? [T]his little event, of France possessing herself of Louisiana, . How many amendments make up the Bill of Rights? With the failure to retake Saint-Domingue and the inevitability of renewed war between France and Britain, Napoleon refigured his political calculus. [60] With tensions increasing with Great Britain, in 1809 Fort Bellefontaine was converted to a U.S. military fort and was used for that purpose until 1826. Aside from the obvious drive for conquest by Napoleon, he knew that when war started between the two countries, Britain would attempt to take Louisiana. Napoleon sold French Louisiana to the US in 1803 as the Louisiana Purchase. A final reason for Napoleons fateful decision was that he foresaw the difficulty in maintaining a French colony in North America across the Atlantic and so close to the United States. First, as mentioned before, France needed more money for the impending war and to concentrate its resources on Europe. Monroe, along with the minister to France, Robert Livingston, made the inquiry. 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. True False, Federalists believed in a strict following of the Constitution exactly as it was worded. On March 9 and 10, 1804, another ceremony, commemorated as Three Flags Day, was conducted in St. Louis, to transfer ownership of Upper Louisiana from Spain to France, and then from France to the United States. In the 1780s, it produced 60% of the world's coffee and supplied Britain and France with 40% of its sugar. The Federalists even tried to prove the land belonged to Spain, not France, but available records proved otherwise. Du Pont was living in the United States at the time and had close ties to Jefferson as well as the prominent politicians in France. Those troops saw initial success and captured the rebellions esteemed leader, Toussaint Louverture, though ultimately they could not fully suppress the rebellion. [17] The signers were Robert Livingston, James Monroe, and Franois Barb-Marbois. Out of anger towards Spain and the unique opportunity to sell something that was useless and not truly his yet, Napoleon decided to sell the entire territory. was a self-trained military genius who won the battle of New Orleans from the British The Treaty of Ghent represented: a substantial victory for the United States a substantial victory for the British a return to conditions as they were prior to the war a diplomatic coup for Napoleon a return to conditions as they were prior to the war Manifest destiny was in full effect. miles of land for fifteen million dollars. Mexico. As described by Louisiana State University, France even went so far as to send convicts from debtors' prisons to the colony in 1717 in order to increase its settlement. True False, Hamilton's financial plans favored the northern states. 1, 1967, pp. Louis. James Monroe 5. The U.S. adapted the former Spanish facility at Fort Bellefontaine as a fur trading post near St. Louis in 1804 for business with the Sauk and Fox. Francis Scott Key. 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. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 was a temporary solution. France turned over New Orleans, the historic colonial capital, on December 20, 1803, at the Cabildo, with a flag-raising ceremony in the Plaza de Armas, now Jackson Square. . The territory utterly transformed the nation over the next decades, in both good and bad ways. The Significance and Purpose of the Treaty of Tordesillas. The many court cases and tribal suits in the 1930s for historical damages flowing from the Louisiana Purchase led to the Indian Claims Commission Act (ICCA) in 1946. To France, it was a backwater sort of like owning Mediterranean Avenue in Monopoly. The jewel of the French overseas empire was Saint-Domingue in the Caribbean, which is today's Haiti on the large island of Hispaniola. Also, Spain's refusal to cede Florida to France meant that Louisiana would be indefensible. According to the memoirs of Franois Barb-Marbois, in what was a prophetic statement foreshadowing the American Civil War, Napoleon said, "Perhaps it will also be objected to me, that the Americans may be found too powerful for Europe in two or three centuries: but my foresight does not embrace such remote fears. [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. Livingston wrote to James Madison, "We shall do all we can to cheapen the purchase, but my present sentiment is that we shall buy.". 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. Napoleon foresaw the United States as a future ally that could one day match Britain in might. On March 10, 1804, France officially transferred its claim to the Louisiana Territory to the United States.
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