Student Essay on The Louisiana Purchase

The Louisiana Purchase

Summary:   The Louisiana Purchase, stretching nearly 828, 000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River, has been described as the greatest real estate deal in history. On April 30, 1803, the United States paid France $ 15 million for the Louisiana Territory. The land acquired stretches from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and from the Gulf of Mexico to the Canadian Border. The Louisiana Purchase doubled the size of the United States from which thirteen states were carved. This purchase made the United States one of the largest nations in the world.

The Louisiana Purchase

"Let the land rejoice, for you have bought Louisiana for a song."

- General Horatio Gates to President Thomas Jefferson, July 18, 1803

The purchase of the Louisiana Territory marked a great undertaking in the United States' history. Some key questions that will be answered within this essay will be as follows:

Why was the Louisiana Territory being sold? How was this process undertaken? And finally, what was the benefit of Louisiana becoming a part of the United States? In the following paragraphs these issues will be addressed and resolved, starting from the beginning to the end.

Napoleon Bonaparte (later known as Emperor Napoleon I) saw France becoming a great empire in the New World. He saw the Mississippi Valley as a trade center to Hispaniola, which was the heart of his empire. He first had to regain control of Hispaniola, where power had been seized by Haitian slaves under Toussaint

L'Ouverture. Despite military success, many French soldiers were lost to the yellow fever. Napoleon realized the Hispaniola had to be abandoned. He had little use for Louisiana without the island. A war with Great Britain was approaching and Napoleon could not spare his troops. He needed money and funds to rebuild his army, and so, accordingly, he offered to sell Louisiana to the United States in April 1803.

A treaty signed on April 30, 1803, had the United States purchasing the Louisiana Territory from France. The price was about $ 15 million, or 60 million francs, with $ 11, 250, 000 to be paid directly. President Thomas Jefferson sent James Monroe and Robert R. Livingston to Paris to negotiate the purchase. Because of concern with French intentions, the purchase was to be for a tract of land on the lower Mississippi, or at least, free navigation of the river. Surprised by the French offer of the entire territory, Monroe and Livingston

immediately negotiated the treaty. A one stroke, the United States doubled in size and an enormous tract of land was opened for settlement. Adding to that, free navigation of the Mississippi River was guaranteed. Jefferson concluded that the practical benefits to the nation far outweighed the possible violation of the Constitution. The Constitution did not specifically empower the federal government to acquire new territory by treaty. The Senate concurred with Jefferson's decision and on October 20, 1803, voted ratification. On December 20, 1803, the French turned Louisiana over to the United States of America.

The Louisiana Purchase, stretching nearly 828, 000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River, has been described as the greatest real estate deal in history. On April 30, 1803, the United States paid France $ 15 million for the Louisiana Territory. The land acquired stretches from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and from the Gulf of Mexico to the Canadian Border. The Louisiana Purchase doubled the size of the United States from which thirteen states were carved. This purchase made the United States one of the largest nations in the world.

The purchase of the Louisiana Territory was of an enormous benefit to the United States.

As explained in the above, Louisiana was being sold in order for Napoleon Bonaparte to acquire funds to rebuild his army. Louisiana was purchased from France at the cost of 60 francs. The territory was officially turned over to the United States on December 20, 1803. The Louisiana Territory was a vast expansion of land which doubled the U.S. in size and made the United States one of the worlds largest nations.