who sold the louisiana territory to the united states

When Napoleon rose to power in 1799, the French governments finances were in disarray due to the effects of the French Revolution. It was the first and only time that a slave revolt had seen such success, and this epochal event in San-Domingue is linked with the Louisiana Purchase. Thomas Jefferson 4. While Napoleon originally tried to sell the territory for $22 million, the two sides eventually agreed to a sale at $15 million. Louisiana had never been considered one of New Spain's internal provinces. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/2123552. The answer fell into his lap. Advertisement chelseann013 Answer: He needed money to pay for the war with Britain Advertisement Advertisement While the United States kept Napoleon at arms length and enacted the Embargo Act of 1807 against both Britain and France, the issue of British impressment led directly to the important War of 1812, thereby indirectly helping Napoleons cause by diverting British resources from Europe. The U.S. bought 828,000 sq. Napoleon Bonaparte sold the land because he needed money for the Great French War. [24], Henry Adams and other historians have argued that Jefferson acted hypocritically with the Louisiana Purchase, because of his position as a strict constructionist regarding the Constitution since he stretched the intent of that document to justify his purchase. 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." 50721. On March 11, 1803, Napoleon began preparing to invade Great Britain. [47] However by December 1803, the British directed Barings to halt future payments to France. The Sac and the Fox lived on the northern Mississippi River, the Osage on the Missouri River and on the Arkansas River in present eastern Oklahoma, and the Quapaw at the . Why Was Washingtons Farewell Address Important? 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. The question of what to do with the territory brought out deep divisions along sectional lines and ultimately helped lead to the Civil War. In addition, the DunbarHunter Expedition (18041805) explored the Ouachita River watershed. The vast territory was named after Louis XIV, the so-called Sun King. The risk of another power taking it from a weakened Spain made a "profound reconsideration" of this policy necessary. 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. 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. Native Americans way of life was forever changed by the unrelenting encroachment of American settlers. Barings relayed to order to Hopes, which declined to comply, allowing the final payments to be made to France in April 1804. [51] The dispute was ultimately resolved by the AdamsOns Treaty of 1819, with the United States gaining most of what it had claimed in the west. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/25723883. [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. Napoleon. Spain procrastinated until late 1802 in executing the treaty to transfer Louisiana to France, which allowed American hostility to build. 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. Its European peoples, of ethnic French, Spanish and Mexican descent, were largely Catholic; in addition, there was a large population of enslaved Africans made up of a high proportion of recent arrivals, as Spain had continued the transatlantic slave trade. Napoleon Bonaparte used the cash to finance his war efforts, but he was finally and permanently defeated at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. Napoleon informed his brothers of the sale and asked for their opinion. 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. 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 Library of Congress explains how President Thomas Jefferson realized the precariousness of having France as a neighbor. Napoleon was reported to have said of Louisiana in his treasury minister's memoir, "To attempt obstinately to retain it would be folly.". John Adams 2. However at the time Napoleon traded long-term potential for short-term gain. Jefferson had authorized Livingston only to purchase New Orleans. Despite the implications of the Louisiana Purchase for both France and the United States, Native Americans were unquestionably the biggest losers in the arrangement. Who was President at the time of the Whiskey Rebellion? On January 1, 1804, Haiti declared its independence. This, together with the successful French demand for an indemnity of 150 million francs in 1825, severely hampered Haiti's ability to repair its economy after decades of war. The confederations that are called perpetual, only last till one of the contracting parties finds it to its interest to break them, and it is to prevent the danger, to which the colossal power of England exposes us, that I would provide a remedy. 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 [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. He bought the Louisiana territory from France, which was being led by Napoleon Bonaparte at the time, for 15,000,000 USD. 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." American diplomats Robert Livingston and James Monroepurchased the Louisiana Territory from the French for $15 million dollars, or four cents an acre, in 1803. France [48], A dispute soon arose between Spain and the United States regarding the extent of Louisiana. While Napoleons reasons were valid, his decision to sell the Louisiana territory certainly came as a surprise. [4] New Orleans was already important for shipping agricultural goods to and from the areas of the United States west of the Appalachian Mountains. Also, many Federalists were speculators in lands in upstate New York and New England and were hoping to sell these lands to farmers, who might go west instead, if the Louisiana Purchase went through. [T]his little event, of France possessing herself of Louisiana, . When Monroe and Livingston were offered the opportunity to buy the entire territory, they could not help but be excited. It was the French who sold the Louisiana Territory to the United States. The Federalists even tried to prove the land belonged to Spain, not France, but available records proved otherwise. In 1718, the French established New Orleans, and scant groups of colonists moved in. 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 French had no active administration over the territory and there were few French settlers. 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. 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. As the lands were being gradually settled by American migrants, many Americans, including Jefferson, assumed that the territory would be acquired "piece by piece." 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. [58] In a freedom suit that went from Missouri to the U.S. Supreme Court, slavery of Native Americans was finally ended in 1836. In January 1802, France sent General Charles Leclerc on an expedition to Saint-Domingue to reassert French control over a colony that had become essentially autonomous under Louverture. In 1800, Napoleon, the First Consul of the French Republic, regained ownership of Louisiana as part of a broader effort to re-establish a French colonial empire in North America. 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. In a way, this almost came to pass in the War of 1812. The Significance and Purpose of the Treaty of Tordesillas. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/1833473. [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. However, as Slate Magazine describes, the United States did not so much buy the land but rather the imperial rights to conquer it and take it from the Native Americans who'd lived there for millennia. The purchase included land from fifteen present U.S. states and two Canadian provinces, including the entirety of Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska; large portions of North Dakota and South Dakota; the area of Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado east of the Continental Divide; the portion of Minnesota west of the Mississippi River; the northeastern section of New Mexico; northern portions of Texas; New Orleans and the portions of the present state of Louisiana west of the Mississippi River; and small portions of land within Alberta and Saskatchewan. 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. As for France, it never seriously established a colonial presence in the Americas again. 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. [50] Spain insisted that Louisiana comprised no more than the western bank of the Mississippi River and the cities of New Orleans and St. 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. [33] The fledgling United States did not have $15 million in its treasury; it borrowed the sum from Great Britain, at an annual interest rate of six percent. This success stuck in Napoleon's craw. sold the Louisiana Territory to the United States. Negotiating with French Treasury Minister Franois Barb-Marbois, the American representatives quickly agreed to purchase the entire territory of Louisiana after it was offered. 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. 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. [57], The Louisiana Territory was broken into smaller portions for administration, and the territories passed slavery laws similar to those in the southern states but incorporating provisions from the preceding French and Spanish rule (for instance, Spain had prohibited slavery of Native Americans in 1769, but some slaves of mixed African-Native American descent were still being held in St. Louis in Upper Louisiana when the U.S. took over). PBS describes how by 1812, France had increased its army strength to 600,000 men, not to mention the thousands in the navy. The French ruler was just about to embark on a series of devastating wars. I renounce it with the greatest regret." President Jefferson's Secretary of the Treasury. However, one has to question whether the French ruler considered the consequences of selling France's interest in Louisiana. Napoleon sold the territory to the United States for only three cents an acre. Interested in reaching out? 730 Words3 Pages. 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? 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. [1][2] More recently, the total cost to the U.S. government of all subsequent treaties and financial settlements over the land has been estimated to be around 2.6 billion dollars.[1][2]. Jefferson's philosophical consistency was in question because of his strict interpretation of the Constitution. Napoleon needed peace with Britain to take possession of Louisiana. The Louisiana Purchase was the start of the United States' incredible expansion from a group of Eastern Seaboard states on the North American continent. The United States purchased the Louisiana Territory in 1803. The Federalists strongly opposed the purchase, favoring close relations with Britain over closer ties to Napoleon. Manifest destiny was in full effect. In the early 1800s aside from the city of New Orleans, the Louisiana territory was sparsely populated. Of 176 electoral votes cast, all but 14 were in his favor. 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. Louisiana under Spanish control fared little better. 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. ", This page was last edited on 5 February 2023, at 06:28. Majority Leader John Randolph led the opposition. Please feel free to fill out our Contact Form. Francis Scott Key. To read more on what we're all about, learn more about us here. [citation needed], In Saint-Domingue, Leclerc's forces took Louverture prisoner, but their expedition soon faltered in the face of fierce resistance and disease. So while a slave rebellion helped drive the Louisiana Purchase, the new territory was destined to become a place of suffering and exploitation for the thousands of slaves forced to work there.. The Louisiana Purchase was a significant event of monumental proportions in the history of the United States. Adams' Vice President 4. went to France to purchase New Orleans 5. sold Louisiana to the United States 6. explored the Louisiana Territory 1. Without that, the United States' international influence would be less, as would its influence over the development of democracies. Alain Chappet, Roger Martin, Alain Pigeard. Mexico. Napoleon sold France's Louisiana territory because he needed money to fund his wars of conquest in Europe one of the terms of the Louisiana purchase was that the U.S. had to pay the whole price up front in gold. Otherwise, Louisiana would be an easy prey for a potential invasion from Britain or the U.S. [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. 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. American Indians were also present in large numbers. Acquiring the territory doubled the size of the United States. [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. ' Weegy: Napoleon sold the Louisiana Territory to the United States because he would have a hard time managing . a Federalist judge who wanted his commission granted. 3) Deutsch, Eberhard P. The Constitutional Controversy Over the Louisiana Purchase. American Bar Association Journal, vol. Jefferson tasked James Monroe and Robert R. Livingston with purchasing New Orleans. Why did Napoleon Sell the Louisiana Territory? To part with the territory so soon after its transfer left many French aristocrats puzzled. [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. [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. [45] In 2021 dollars, the $15 million purchase price is equivalent to $336.92million. The Louisiana Purchase proved popular with white Americans, who were hungry for more western lands to settle. Napoleon Bonaparte sold the land because he needed money for the Great French War. 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. 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. Earlier in 1803, Francis Baring and Company of London had become the U.S. government's official banking agent in London following the failure of Bird, Savage & Bird. [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. 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). 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 . These wars, the Napoleonic Wars, lasted from 1803 to 1815 and led, as described by the New World Encyclopedia, to a brief French dominance of Europe. Which one of the following men was not a member of Washington's first Cabinet? [citation needed], Governing the Louisiana Territory was more difficult than acquiring it. This secret deal did not remain secret for long. Zebulon Pike What nickname were Americans given who wanted war with England? The Louisiana Purchase extended United States sovereignty across the Mississippi River, nearly doubling the nominal size of the country. 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. The problem with Saint-Domingue was that its entire economy was supported by and depended entirely upon slavery. It cannot be understated just how important the Louisiana Purchase was to the United States. [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. True False, Hamilton's financial plans favored the northern states. Louis. "Napoleon, Jefferson, and the Louisiana Purchase. 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 9, no. 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. [32] The Senate quickly ratified the treaty, and the House, with equal readiness, authorized the required funding, as the Constitution specifies. [8] In 1801, Jefferson supported France in its plan to take back Saint-Domingue (present-day Haiti), which was then under control of Toussaint Louverture after a slave rebellion. They wrote an enthusiasticletter to Secretary of State James Madison: "An acquisition of so great an extent was, we well Know, not contemplated by our appointment; but we are persuaded that the Circumstances and Considerations which induced us to make it, will justify us, in the measure, to our Government and Country.". True False, Federalists believed in a strict following of the Constitution exactly as it was worded. dollar. Your email address will not be published. However, the territory, like a regifted picture frame, was swapped among European powers. Washington University in St. Louis Press. Even in 1803, that was dirt cheap. Timeline of the History of the United States. 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. [5], In 1798, Spain revoked the treaty allowing American use of New Orleans, greatly upsetting Americans. 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]. A U.S. 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 [] War Hawks 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? The Louisiana Purchase was the start of the United States' incredible expansion from a group of Eastern Seaboard states on the North American continent. See chapter iii, "Treaty Ceding Louisiana to the United States" (1803 ff.). Ambitions ruined, the French forces admitted defeat and returned home. 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 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. The Louisiana Purchase was a land purchase made by President Thomas Jefferson in 1803. Napoleons spot on the French throne was not guaranteed and he had neither the time nor resources to wait for the Louisiana territory to bear fruit with war in Europe once again looming. While this strategy was successful at first, by 1803, disease and heavy casualties forced the French to withdraw. 2) White, Eugene Nelson. To learn more about US history, check out this timeline of the history of the United States. According to the University of Kentucky, slaves outnumbered free people at least 10 to 1. According to the Library of Congress, Napoleon did not have enough troops to occupy Louisiana while simultaneously subduing Saint-Domingue. [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. 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 . Why did France sell Louisiana to the US? Napoleon brought stabilization to the regime, though direct taxes on the population made up a sky-high ~60% of all government revenues, compared to just 30% pre-revolution.2, In addition, Napoleons government maintained a large standing army to protect the nation and ward off enemies. 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. To recap, Napoleon ultimately sold the Louisiana territory for the following reasons: In hindsight it is easy for historians to criticize Napoleons decision. 2), which is just what Jefferson did. Required fields are marked *. On April 12, 1803, Franois Barb-Marbois met with the Americans. 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. Knowing that war was imminent, Napoleon sensed two opportunities by selling the Louisiana territory. The Constitution specifically grants the president the power to negotiate treaties (Art. 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. The U.S. claimed that Louisiana included the entire western portion of the Mississippi River drainage basin to the crest of the Rocky Mountains and land extending to the Rio Grande and West Florida. The Lewis and Clark expedition followed shortly thereafter. B. felt that the United States would be the best country to manage the land. The following year, the District of Louisiana was renamed the Territory of Louisiana. The Louisiana purchase doubled the size of America. [25] The American purchase of the Louisiana territory was not accomplished without domestic opposition. Lucien later reported in a memoirthat the pair sought out their brother in the Tuileries, where they found the ruler indulging in a bath. Treasury Secretary Albert Gallatin added that since the power to negotiate treaties was specifically granted to the president, the only way extending the country's territory by treaty could not be a presidential power would be if it were specifically excluded by the Constitution (which it was not). [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. France ceded the territory to Spain in 1762 in the secret Treaty of Fontainebleau. [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. 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. In 1763, Louis XV gave Louisiana to his cousin, Charles III of Spain. Napoleon quipped after the Louisiana treaty: Napoleon was correct in that the Jeffersonian Democrats favored closer relations with France over Spain. 5057. The Louisiana Purchase had major consequences for the United States. pp. [44][42] With the bankers' help, the French and American negotiators settled on a price of 80 million francs ($15 million), down from an initial price of 100 million francs, a sum the Americans could not afford and the financers could not provide. He also realized that with Britain's superior naval power, it would be relatively easy for them to take Louisiana at will.