Thomas Jefferson and the decision to purchase the Louisiana Territory (1803)

(You need to write info from the slides for your notes; anything in italics you do not need to record)

• Thomas Jefferson was elected the third president of the U.S. in 1800

• Like many Americans, he desired the expansion of the nation to the West

• In particular, Jefferson wanted the U.S. to be able to purchase New Orleans

• New Orleans was very important as a port along the Mississippi River

• Americans who lived west of the Appalachian Mountains had to send their goods to market via the Mississippi River and New Orleans

• But, in 1803, New Orleans did not belong to the United States– it belonged to France

• Jefferson sent word to the French leader—Napoleon Bonaparte (see picture)– that the U.S. was interested in buying the port of New Orleans

• Surprisingly, Napoleon came back with an offer for the U.S. to purchase all of the Louisiana Territory

• France was fighting a very expensive war with England and needed money and no longer wanted to deal with land in America

• Despite his desire for the U.S. to own New Orleans, control trade on the Mississippi River, and own the rest of the Louisiana Territory, Jefferson worried about the constitutionality of such a purchase

• After all, nowhere written in the Constitution was power given to the government to buy new land– So, what power does a President have according to the Constitution?

• Ultimately, Jefferson negotiated a treaty with France to purchase New Orleans and all of Louisiana for $15 million

• The U.S. Senate ratified the treaty and the Louisiana Purchase was completed in 1803

• The Louisiana Purchase is sometimes called the best real estate deal in history because it doubled the size of the U.S. and it only cost about 3 cents an acre!

Picture credits• Louisiana Purchase Map:

http://www.jmu.edu/madison/center/images/lpmapbig.gif

• Thomas Jefferson: http://www.uoregon.edu/~lslaught/tjefferson/pageone_files/image005.jpg

• Mississippi River: http://www.nps.gov/archive/cuva/kidstuff/pac/watersheds/images/USmaps/US_new.jpg

• Napoleon: http://www.odisea.ucv.cl/download/recopilacion%20imagenes/Historia%20Universal/Revolucion%20Francesa/Napoleon%20Bonaparte.JPG

• Constitution: http://www.rhodesstate.edu/images/finaid/us_constitution.jpg

• Dollar sign: http://www.niaid.nih.gov/ncn/graphics/clipart/color_dollar_sign2.gif