The Louisianna Acquisition

Growing Pains: The New Republic, 1790-1820 The Louisianna Acquisition Jefferson's biggest achievement came in 1803, when the US acquired the Louisiana area from France. Jefferson aimed to establish his "empire of liberty" by growing the US. Given the quantity of land involved, $15 million was a great deal, and it allowed the United States to double in size. The Louisiana Purchase, arguably the biggest real estate transaction in American history, significantly improved Jeffersonian perceptions of the US as an agricultural republic with young farmers cultivating the land. Jefferson also wished to increase trade with the West, considering the Mississippi River (then the country's western border) and the port of New Orleans to be essential to agricultural trade in the United States. He imagined that farmers would ship their food to New Orleans, Louisiana, along the Mississippi River, where it would be purchased by traders from Europe. Although Jefferson was aware of the potential ramifications of the deal, the acquisition of Louisiana was mostly the result of events outside of his control. Spain owned New Orleans until 1801, when it granted the United States permission to trade commodities in the port without having to pay customs taxes. But the Spanish had given Louisiana (as well as New Orleans) to France that year. Many people were infuriated when the United States lost its ability to deposit goods at ports for free in 1802, and some of them even demanded war against France. Sending James Monroe to France to apply further pressure, Jefferson sent Robert Livingston, the American minister to France, instructions to ensure that New Orleans was accessible. The time worked out well. After France lost the French and Indian War (1754-1763), the oppressive plantation rule was effectively destroyed by Black slaves in the French territory of Haiti. As a result, Napoleon could no longer aspire to recover the empire. His plan to use Louisiana and the Mississippi Valley as a food supply for Haiti-the world's most lucrative sugar island-had fallen through. Thus in early 1803, the emperor approved the transaction. The actual size of the newly annexed United States territory was still uncertain. Would it offer the much awaited rapid access to Asian markets? There was little geographic information; nobody really understood what was to the west or how long it took to get from the Mississippi to the Pacific. William Clark and Meriwether Lewis, two other Virginians, were chosen by Jefferson to command an expedition to the uncharted territories of the West. Their goal was to identify possible trade routes and, more significantly, the new land's commercial potential. Lewis and Clark travelled the West from 1804 to 1806. Jefferson had a landslide victory in 1804 when he was reelected thanks to the Louisiana Purchase. All but 14 of the 176 electoral votes voted went to him. Critics of the massive US expansion included those in the north, who feared that additional slave states would be added and that their concerns would not be adequately represented in the North as a result. It was also uncertain whether the president had the authority to expand territory in this way under a strict reading of the Constitution. However, the great majority of people applauded the republic's expansion. New territories in the West would benefit slaveholders, but the Louisiana Purchase threatened to worsen the plight of their prisoner's.