Saint-Domingue was a powder keg, ready to explode. In a way, this almost came to pass in the War of 1812. 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." Even the commanding General, Napoleons brother-in-law Charles Leclerc, succumbed to tropical disease as did tens of thousands of other troops.1. Napoleon sold the territory to the United States for only three cents an acre. PBS describes how by 1812, France had increased its army strength to 600,000 men, not to mention the thousands in the navy. [citation needed], Governing the Louisiana Territory was more difficult than acquiring it. Napoleon dreamed and yearned for a French colonial empire to rival the British. 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. Jefferson ultimately came to the conclusion before the ratification of the treaty that the purchase was to protect the citizens of the United States therefore making it constitutional. [34] The United States Senate advised and consented to ratification of the treaty with a vote of twenty-four to seven on October 20. Without that, the United States' international influence would be less, as would its influence over the development of democracies. 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. (land, gold, and to start a new life). [47] However by December 1803, the British directed Barings to halt future payments to France. leader of the Democratic-Republican Party, sold Louisiana Territory to the United States, The first capital of the United States was Washington, D.C. Ambitions ruined, the French forces admitted defeat and returned home. 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. The treaty also recognized American rights to navigate the entire Mississippi, which had become vital to the growing trade of the western territories. At the time of the purchase, the territory of Louisiana's non-native population was around 60,000 inhabitants, of whom half were enslaved Africans. Your email address will not be published. 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. The French government replied that these objections were baseless since the promise not to alienate Louisiana was not in the treaty of San Ildefonso itself and therefore had no legal force, and the Spanish government had ordered Louisiana to be transferred in October 1802 despite knowing for months that Britain had not recognized the King of Etruria in the Treaty of Amiens. A treaty, dated April 30 and signed May 2, was then worked out that gave Louisiana to the United States in exchange for $11.25 million, plus the forgiveness of $3.75 million in French debt. The Louisiana Purchase was the latter, a treaty. Even if the British did not seize the territory, the United States also posed a significant future threat. The Louisiana Purchase encompassed 530,000,000 acres of territory in North America that the United States purchased from France in 1803 for $15 million. They also feared that this would lead to Western states being formed, which would likely be Republican, and dilute the political power of New England Federalists. When word got around that Napoleon was giving up Louisiana to the Americans, not everybody agreed. 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. Mexico. Jefferson tasked James Monroe and Robert R. Livingston with purchasing New Orleans. Ambassador who was sent to France to negotiate the purchase of the Louisiana Territory. But although the Americans never asked for it, Napoleon dangled the entire territory in front of them on April 11, 1803. Napoleon's goal: an American empire. [citation needed], After the early explorations, the U.S. government sought to establish control of the region, since trade along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers was still dominated by British and French traders from Canada and allied Indians, especially the Sauk and Fox. From the French perspective, just why did Napoleon sell the Louisiana territory to the Americans? Napoleon informed his brothers of the sale and asked for their opinion. [48], A dispute soon arose between Spain and the United States regarding the extent of Louisiana. On April 30, 1812, exactly nine years after the Louisiana Purchase agreement was made, the first of 13 states to be carved from the territoryLouisianawas admitted into the Union as the 18th . 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 The Americans thought that Napoleon might withdraw the offer at any time, preventing the United States from acquiring New Orleans, so they agreed and signed the Louisiana Purchase Treaty on April 30, 1803, (10 Floral XI in the French Republican calendar) at the Htel Tubeuf in Paris. "The district of Louisiana changed to the territory of Louisiana". [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. Manifest destiny was in full effect. [T]his little event, of France possessing herself of Louisiana, . While the concept of "manifest destiny" would not make it into the American lexicon until 1845, the idea that the United States had a divine mission to expand had been in place since the earliest colonial times. Advertisement chelseann013 Answer: He needed money to pay for the war with Britain Advertisement Advertisement [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]. Throughout the second half of the 18th century, the French colony of Louisiana became a pawn for European political intrigue. The Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804) traveled up the Missouri River; the Red River Expedition (1806) explored the Red River basin; the Pike Expedition (1806) also started up the Missouri but turned south to explore the Arkansas River watershed. Who was President at the time of the Whiskey Rebellion? Louis. What Napoleon needed was a way to divest himself of the territory while at the same time preventing it from falling into British hands. The former slaves fought the French forces to a standstill while yellow fever and malaria outbreaks decimated the French invaders. He also realized that with Britain's superior naval power, it would be relatively easy for them to take Louisiana at will. [24], The opposition of New England Federalists to the Louisiana Purchase was primarily economic self-interest, not any legitimate concern over constitutionality or whether France indeed owned Louisiana or was required to sell it back to Spain should it desire to dispose of the territory. This gave Jefferson and his cabinet until October, when the treaty had to be ratified, to discuss the constitutionality of the purchase. [10], In 1803, Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours, a French nobleman, began to help negotiate with France at the request of Jefferson. 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. The resources and land from theLouisiana territory considerably helped the United States become the global power it is today. Zebulon Pike What nickname were Americans given who wanted war with England? Besides, we may hereafter expect rivalries among the members of the Union. [5], In 1798, Spain revoked the treaty allowing American use of New Orleans, greatly upsetting Americans. On April 12, 1803, Franois Barb-Marbois met with the Americans. Though viewed as of lesser importance than the colony of Saint Domingue (Haiti), Louisiana and its crucial port city of New Orleans was to play a large role in French colonial dominance.1. . 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. 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.". 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. Of 176 electoral votes cast, all but 14 were in his favor. All four started from the Mississippi River. Even more puzzling, the French had just reacquired the Louisiana territory and critical port city of New Orleans in the secret 1800 Treaty of San Ildefonso with Spain. The purchase originally extended just beyond the 50th parallel. According to the Library of Congress, the Louisiana Territory was mainly ignored by the French government and remained unprofitable. 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 Bonaparte sold the land because he needed money for the Great French War. President Thomas Jefferson had acquired purchased the Louisiana Territory almost a year earlier, for the price of about $15 million (about $342 million in 2020, adjusted for inflation).The ceremony took place in St. Louis, Missouri, earning the U.S. city its nickname "Gateway to . The Louisiana Purchase proved popular with white Americans, who were hungry for more western lands to settle. Interested in reaching out? However, France only controlled a small fraction of this area, most of which was inhabited by Native Americans; effectively, for the majority of the area, the United States bought the "preemptive" right to obtain "Indian" lands by treaty or by conquest, to the exclusion of other colonial powers.[1][2]. [32] The Senate quickly ratified the treaty, and the House, with equal readiness, authorized the required funding, as the Constitution specifies. [40], To pay for the land, the American government used a mix of sovereign bonds and the assumption of French debts. 730 Words3 Pages. The Louisiana territory would go on to play a central role in the westward expansion of the United States throughout the 19th century. [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. [18] After the signing Livingston famously stated, "We have lived long, but this is the noblest work of our whole lives From this day the United States take their place among the powers of the first rank. The Louisiana Territory was a vast stretch of land of over 500 million acres from the Mississippi River Delta to the present-day border between Montana and Canada. 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. Monroe, along with the minister to France, Robert Livingston, made the inquiry. The Louisiana Purchase (1803) was a land deal between the United States and France, in which the U.S. acquired approximately 827,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River for $15 million.. Who claimed the Louisiana Territory for France? It takes a certain amount of chutzpah to think you can establish a global empire, and Napoleon Bonaparte is no exception. In return for fifteen million dollars, or approximately eighteen dollars per square mile, the United States nominally acquired a total of 828,000sqmi (2,140,000km2; 530,000,000 acres) in Middle America. 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. The Significance and Purpose of the Treaty of Tordesillas. The United States purchased the Louisiana Territory in 1803. National Geographic also adds that it paved the way for the imperial expansion and conquest of the Native American tribes of the West. Otherwise, Louisiana would be an easy prey for a potential invasion from Britain or the U.S. As part of the deal, the U.S. assumed responsibility for 20 million francs ($3.75 million) of French debts owed to U.S. citizens. Washington University in St. Louis Press. He engaged in back-channel diplomacy with Napoleon on Jefferson's behalf during a visit to France and originated the idea of the much larger Louisiana Purchase as a way to defuse potential conflict between the United States and Napoleon over North America.[11]. The Louisiana Territory That Was Sold. Adams' Vice President 4. went to France to purchase New Orleans 5. sold Louisiana to the United States 6. explored the Louisiana Territory 1. B. felt that the United States would be the best country to manage the land. II, Sec. Why did Napoleon Sell the Louisiana Territory? Plans were also set forth for several missions to explore and chart the territory, the most famous being the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Timeline of the History of the United States. Jefferson sent Livingston to Paris in 1801[9] with the authorization to purchase New Orleans. ' Weegy: Napoleon sold the Louisiana Territory to the United States because he would have a hard time managing . The following year, the District of Louisiana was renamed the Territory of Louisiana. [56] The maps and journals of the explorers helped to define the boundaries during the negotiations leading to the AdamsOns Treaty, which set the western boundary as follows: north up the Sabine River from the Gulf of Mexico to its intersection with the 32nd parallel, due north to the Red River, up the Red River to the 100th meridian, north to the Arkansas River, up the Arkansas River to its headwaters, due north to the 42nd parallel and due west to its previous boundary. [39] New Orleans was the administrative capital of the Orleans Territory, and St. Louis was the capital of the Louisiana Territory. War Hawks a Federalist judge who wanted his commission granted. (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. Francis Baring's son Alexander and Pierre Labouchre from Hopes arrived in Paris in April 1803 to assist with the negotiations. [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. In order to finance his dreams of conquest, Napoleon needed money to finance his military operation, which had been growing in an arms race with Britain. The first reason that Napoleon sold the Louisiana territory was that the French government was in need of money. The Louisiana Purchase (1803) was a land deal between the United States and France, in which the U.S. acquired approximately 827,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River for $15 million. 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? In the year of 1803, the Louisiana purchase occurred. If Napoleon's designs had succeeded, perhaps his decision to abandon Louisiana would be looked at in history as a bit more shrewd than it seemed at first blush. True False, The War of 1812 was between France and the United States. As the Library of Congress describes, Saint-Domingue was incredibly valuable. This situation would further expand and strengthen the British empireNapoleons worst-case scenario. [3] The western borders of the purchase were later settled by the 1819 AdamsOns Treaty with Spain, while the northern borders of the purchase were adjusted by the Treaty of 1818 with Britain. However, the territory, like a regifted picture frame, was swapped among European powers. The territory also was only loosely under French control having just been transferred from Spain in 1800. According to the University of Kentucky, slaves outnumbered free people at least 10 to 1. [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. Required fields are marked *. The Louisiana Purchase was the start of the United States' incredible expansion from a group of Eastern Seaboard states on the North American continent. As detailed by the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Americans believed that the acquisition and settlement of new lands to the west were critical to the future development of the country. 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. In need of funds, Napoleon pressed the banks to complete their purchase of the bonds as quickly as possible, and by April 1804 the banks transferred an additional 40.35 million francs to fully discharge their obligations to France. [63], The Louisiana Purchase was negotiated between France and the United States, without consulting the various Indian tribes who lived on the land and who had not ceded the land to any colonial power. It remained in Spanish hands until 1800, when Napoleon Bonaparte negotiated a secret treaty with Spain and took the vast holding back in exchange for tiny Etruria in Northern Italy. Overcoming the opposition of the Federalist Party, Jefferson and Secretary of State James Madison persuaded Congress to ratify and fund the Louisiana Purchase. Critics in Congress worried whether these "foreigners", unacquainted with democracy, could or should become citizens. 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. [citation needed], During this period, south Louisiana received an influx of French-speaking refugee planters, who were permitted to bring their slaves with them, and other refugees fleeing the large slave revolt in Saint-Domingue. History and Geography 807: The Industrial Nat, Social Studies American History: Reconstruction to the Present Guided Reading Workbook, Deborah Gray White, Edward L. Ayers, Jess F. de la Teja, Robert D. Schulzinger, Alan Brinkley, Albert S. Broussard, Donald A. Ritchie, James M. McPherson, Joyce Appleby, Creating America: A History of the United States. Furthermore, the French had no administration over the territory and few French settlers lived on the land. 1) Sloane, William M. The World Aspects of the Louisiana Purchase. The American Historical Review, vol. What was one reason the napoleon sold the Louisiana territory to the united states 2 See answers Advertisement JaxonA One reason Napoleon sold it because he needed the money. 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. Napoleon was reported to have said of Louisiana in his treasury minister's memoir, "To attempt obstinately to retain it would be folly.". The problem with Saint-Domingue was that its entire economy was supported by and depended entirely upon slavery. The Territory of Louisiana or Louisiana Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1805, [1] until June 4, 1812, when it was renamed the Missouri Territory. 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. The formidable British navy could easily blockade the territory and seize it for themselves. Napoleon saw in the sale of Louisiana something he needed more than anything else cold, hard cash. President Jefferson's Secretary of the Treasury. Some of those other sources included the colonies and in this instance, the Louisiana territory. [5], Following the establishment of the United States, the Americans controlled the area east of the Mississippi and north of New Orleans. Native Americans way of life was forever changed by the unrelenting encroachment of American settlers. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/1833473. This was possible because the Louisiana territory did not only encompass Louisiana as the state that exists today. The Lewis and Clark expedition followed shortly thereafter. First, an empowered United States could effectively act as a formidable rival to Britain. [45] In 2021 dollars, the $15 million purchase price is equivalent to $336.92million. Napoleon sold French Louisiana to the US in 1803 as the Louisiana Purchase. Contents1 What country controlled the Louisiana Territory?2 Who controlled the Louisiana Territory in 1763?3 Who controlled Louisiana in 1812?4 Who controlled Louisiana in 1810?5 [] What is the eagle on the Great Seal holding in his right talon? The . At the same time, this territorial expansion also allowed for the growth and expansion of slavery in the United States, which finally culminated in the American Civil War. At the time of the Louisiana Purchase Europe was held under a temporary peace as a result of the 1802 Treaty of Amiens. [37][38], Effective October 1, 1804, the purchased territory was organized into the Territory of Orleans (most of which would become the state of Louisiana) and the District of Louisiana, which was temporarily under control of the governor and judicial system of the Indiana Territory. A U.S. Washington set a precedent by serving ______ terms as President. Napoleon's brothers, Lucien and Joseph, objected, thinking it a black mark on France's reputation and glory. 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. 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 . It cannot be understated just how important the Louisiana Purchase was to the United States.