who sold the louisiana territory to the united states

sold the Louisiana Territory to the United States. Andrew Jackson. 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. [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. 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. Your email address will not be published. Francis Scott Key. Answer and Explanation: Both Federalists and Jeffersonians were concerned over the purchase's constitutionality. White House 3. When word got around that Napoleon was giving up Louisiana to the Americans, not everybody agreed. 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 Louisiana Purchase had major consequences for the United States. [citation needed], Governing the Louisiana Territory was more difficult than acquiring it. To recap, Napoleon ultimately sold the Louisiana territory for the following reasons: In hindsight it is easy for historians to criticize Napoleons decision. While Napoleon originally tried to sell the territory for $22 million, the two sides eventually agreed to a sale at $15 million. This was possible because the Louisiana territory did not only encompass Louisiana as the state that exists today. Perhaps the most important reason as to why Napoleon sold the Louisiana territory to the United States was the Haitian Revolution. What is the eagle on the Great Seal holding in his right talon? Barings relayed to order to Hopes, which declined to comply, allowing the final payments to be made to France in April 1804. Advertisement chelseann013 Answer: He needed money to pay for the war with Britain Advertisement Advertisement With a $15 million investment, the United States acquired more than 800,000 acres, almost doubling the country's land holdings. Upon word of the Louisiana territory transfer from Spain to France, some hot-headed members of Congress proposed a preemptive strike against New Orleans. 53, no. [4] New Orleans was already important for shipping agricultural goods to and from the areas of the United States west of the Appalachian Mountains. The first westward surge of the settlement reached the: What did the South receive in the compromise over the war debts between Hamilton and Jefferson? 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 Louis. Would that make the United States too powerful? 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.". War Hawks This land needed to be explored to see what the United States had purchased. 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 a way, this almost came to pass in the War of 1812. [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. 2, 1995, pp. In 1801, Spanish Governor Don Juan Manuel de Salcedo took over from the Marquess of Casa Calvo, and restored the American right to deposit goods. 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). All these soldiers needed to be fed, housed, and paid. The rest was history. Even though Europeans had ostensibly laid claim to Louisiana for centuries, it remained largely undeveloped, with few wanting to move there. The Louisiana Purchase (French: Vente de la Louisiane, lit. It takes a certain amount of chutzpah to think you can establish a global empire, and Napoleon Bonaparte is no exception. The former slaves fought the French forces to a standstill while yellow fever and malaria outbreaks decimated the French invaders. This was coupled with the importation of enslaved Africans. Acquiring the territory doubled the size of the United States. How many amendments make up the Bill of Rights? Who sold the Louisiana Territory to the United states? According to the census of 1810, there were 20,845 Americans in the Territory of Louisiana, among whom were 3,011 slaves. Some of those other sources included the colonies and in this instance, the Louisiana territory. He wanted Saint-Domingue and its incredibly profitable sugar and coffee plantations restored and under French control, with the old system reinstated. Also, Spain's refusal to cede Florida to France meant that Louisiana would be indefensible. Difficulty in Maintaining Louisiana Territory, timeline of the history of the United States, Understanding the Significance of the 1793 Proclamation of Neutrality, The Significance of the 1775 Olive Branch Petition, The Significance of the Corrupt Bargain Election of 1824, The Significance of the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions. Without that, the United States' international influence would be less, as would its influence over the development of democracies. Why is France sold the Louisiana Purchase to the US? 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. Already at the time, American frontier settlers slowly trickled into the territory. The Louisiana Purchase proved popular with white Americans, who were hungry for more western lands to settle. 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. 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. "[19] On July 4, 1803, the treaty was announced,[20] but the documents did not arrive in Washington, D.C. until July 14. A watershed event in American history, the purchase of the Louisiana . Pinckney's Treaty, signed with Spain on October 27, 1795, gave American merchants "right of deposit" in New Orleans, granting them use of the port to store goods for export. 2), which is just what Jefferson did. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/25723883. The key to opening the western goal was securing the Mississippi River and the Louisiana Territory. To part with the territory so soon after its transfer left many French aristocrats puzzled. 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. 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. Though Jefferson urged moderation, Federalists sought to use this against Jefferson and called for hostilities against France. 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]. [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. "Napoleon, Jefferson, and the Louisiana Purchase. pp. Napoleon quipped after the Louisiana treaty: Napoleon was correct in that the Jeffersonian Democrats favored closer relations with France over Spain. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. While this was just a rumor, he had made up his mind to sell the territory. 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. On the following day, October 21, 1803, the Senate authorized Jefferson to take possession of the territory and establish a temporary military government. True False, Federalists believed in a strict following of the Constitution exactly as it was worded. 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. [17] The signers were Robert Livingston, James Monroe, and Franois Barb-Marbois. 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. 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. The treaty also recognized American rights to navigate the entire Mississippi, which had become vital to the growing trade of the western territories. 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. The jewel of the French overseas empire was Saint-Domingue in the Caribbean, which is today's Haiti on the large island of Hispaniola. Napoleon Bonaparte sold the land because he needed money for the Great French War. 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. 1, 1967, pp. 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. Where Saint Domingue would be the crown jewel with its lucrative sugar plantations, Louisiana would be the bread basket supplying the empire with grains. Negotiating with French Treasury Minister Franois Barb-Marbois, the American representatives quickly agreed to purchase the entire territory of Louisiana after it was offered. I renounce it with the greatest regret." Many people believed that he and others, including James Madison, were doing something they surely would have argued against with Alexander Hamilton. Jefferson tasked James Monroe and Robert R. Livingston with purchasing New Orleans. As for France, it never seriously established a colonial presence in the Americas again. Jefferson considered a constitutional amendment to justify the purchase; however, his cabinet convinced him otherwise. In the meeting, he said that Napoleon had read an account in the London press that 50,000 British troops might be sent to New Orleans. It was the French who sold the Louisiana Territory to the United States. 55, no. 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. Overcoming the opposition of the Federalist Party, Jefferson and Secretary of State James Madison persuaded Congress to ratify and fund the Louisiana Purchase. Britain and France renewed hostilities on May 18, 1803, shortly after the deal was finalized. Napoleon was reported to have said of Louisiana in his treasury minister's memoir, "To attempt obstinately to retain it would be folly.". He also realized that with Britain's superior naval power, it would be relatively easy for them to take Louisiana at will. According to the Library of Congress, Napoleon did not have enough troops to occupy Louisiana while simultaneously subduing Saint-Domingue. Many members of the House of Representatives opposed the purchase. In the year of 1803, the Louisiana purchase occurred. This sale was made under the direction of Napoleon's government in order to help France pay for their war materials. 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). In this light the deal can be seen as a win-win between Napoleon and the United States. . Without Saint Domingue, Napoleons dreams of a French colonial empire in the Americas were dashed. The French had no active administration over the territory and there were few French settlers. The following year, the District of Louisiana was renamed the Territory of Louisiana. See chapter iii, "Treaty Ceding Louisiana to the United States" (1803 ff.). The purchase originally extended just beyond the 50th parallel. The problem with Saint-Domingue was that its entire economy was supported by and depended entirely upon slavery. 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. Throughout this time, Jefferson had up-to-date intelligence on Napoleon's military activities and intentions in North America. The . Francis Baring's son Alexander and Pierre Labouchre from Hopes arrived in Paris in April 1803 to assist with the negotiations. Otherwise, Louisiana would be an easy prey for a potential invasion from Britain or the U.S. [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. 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. 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 French ruler was just about to embark on a series of devastating wars. Jefferson had authorized Livingston only to purchase New Orleans. 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. In November 1803, France withdrew its 7,000 surviving troops from Saint-Domingue (more than two-thirds of its troops died there) and gave up its ambitions in the Western Hemisphere. 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 Historic New Orleans Collection provides more nuance to the negotiations of the Louisiana Purchase. On January 1, 1804, Haiti declared its independence. What Napoleon needed was a way to divest himself of the territory while at the same time preventing it from falling into British hands. As a result, Thomas Jefferson instructed James Monroe and Robert Livingston to purchase New Orleans in 1802. Mexico. When Joseph continued to object, Napoleon shouted, "You are insolent!" 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. 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. 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 . [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. The House called for a vote to deny the request for the purchase, but it failed by two votes, 5957. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/2123552. Who sold the Louisiana Territory to the Jefferson? American diplomats Robert Livingston and James Monroepurchased the Louisiana Territory from the French for $15 million dollars, or four cents an acre, in 1803. Louverture, as a French general, had fended off incursions from other European powers, but had also begun to consolidate power for himself on the island. The AdamsOns Treaty with Spain resolved the issue upon ratification in 1821. The first reason that Napoleon sold the Louisiana territory was that the French government was in need of money. Ambitions ruined, the French forces admitted defeat and returned home. miles of land for fifteen million dollars. Part of his evolving strategy involved giving du Pont some information that was withheld from Livingston. 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. While Napoleon had his reasons for the sale of the Louisiana territory, the treaty has gone down in history as one of the most impactful for the United States. Knowing that war was imminent, Napoleon sensed two opportunities by selling the Louisiana territory. The relatively narrow Louisiana of New Spain had been a special province under the jurisdiction of the Captaincy General of Cuba, while the vast region to the west was in 1803 still considered part of the Commandancy General of the Provincias Internas. Before the revolution, France had derived enormous wealth from St. Domingue at the cost of the lives and freedom of the slaves. As a result, Napoleon's view of Louisiana transformed from that of an outpost to that of a poker chip, ready to cash in. He was assisted by James Monroe. Spain procrastinated until late 1802 in executing the treaty to transfer Louisiana to France, which allowed American hostility to build. Louisiana Territory Changes Hands In 1796, Spain allied itself with France, leading. Saint-Domingue was a powder keg, ready to explode. He bought the Louisiana territory from France, which was being led by Napoleon Bonaparte at the time, for 15,000,000 USD. [39] New Orleans was the administrative capital of the Orleans Territory, and St. Louis was the capital of the Louisiana Territory. [T]his little event, of France possessing herself of Louisiana, . Cantonment Belle Fontaine 8051826 The First U.S. Fort West of the Mississippi River. 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. The formidable British navy could easily blockade the territory and seize it for themselves. This situation would further expand and strengthen the British empireNapoleons worst-case scenario. 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. [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. This secret deal did not remain secret for long. The remaining 60 million francs ($11.25 million) were financed through U.S. government bonds carrying 6% interest, redeemable between 1819 and 1822. 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. 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. To learn more about US history, check out this timeline of the history of the United States. 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. 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 . According to Slavery and Remembrance, the French imported nearly 800,000 enslaved Africans to the colony for brutal plantation work in what was one of the most violent slavery systems in the Americas. Check out our timeline of the history of the United States for a great place to start and navigate through American history! [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. 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. 50721. The Federalists even tried to prove the land belonged to Spain, not France, but available records proved otherwise. By April 30, 1803, they hashed out an agreement where the Americans would pay $15 million, a considerable reduction, although its constitutionality was debated. Livingston wrote to James Madison, "We shall do all we can to cheapen the purchase, but my present sentiment is that we shall buy.". 3, 1904, pp. [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. [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. [53][54], The eastern boundary of the Louisiana purchase was the Mississippi River, from its source to the 31st parallel, though the source of the Mississippi was, at the time, unknown.

The Greatest Man That Ever Lived On Earth, Algerian Arabic Translator, Where Is Davina Chapman Now, Articles W