Westward Expansion

The Louisiana Purchase

The Louisiana Purchase

• 529,911,680 acres of territory purchased from France in 1803, for $15 million (approx. $193 million today)

• Contained parts or all of present-day AK, MO, IA, MN, ND, SD, NE, NM, TX, OK, KA, MT, WY, CO, LA

• In all, over ¼ of the current continental US was added in the purchase

Why did we want to purchase the Louisiana Territories?

• US President Thomas Jefferson wanted to purchase New Orleans (then under Spanish control), which controlled the Mississippi River

• The Mississippi River was important for shipping goods to and from the parts of the US west of the Appalachian Mts.

Why did we want to purchase the Louisiana Territories?

• In 1800, France acquired New Orleans from Spain, and Jefferson worried that the US may lose its “right of deposit” to use the city as a launching point for trade along the Mississippi River

• Jefferson decided that the best way to assure long term access to the Mississippi would be to purchase the city of New Orleans and the nearby territory

The Negotiations

• James Monroe and Robert Livingston were sent to Paris to negotiate a purchase in 1801, and Samuel du Pont de Nemours joined them in 1802. Representing the French was Tallyrand.

• Talks were slow, and a deal was never struck, until 1803. Napoleon suddenly and surprising offered all of France’s lands in North America to the diplomats in 1803, though it was more land and for more money than Congress had approved.

Why did France decide to sell the lands to the US?

• Why the sudden change in heart? Napoleon was at war with the British, in the midst of expanding into the Caribbean, and hoped to keep the US appeased enough to stay out of their other overseas ventures. The money from the sale eventually funded his armies in Europe as well, and he went on to conquer Austria, Prussia, and Russia.

Political arguments for the purchase

• The purchase split US politicians into two groups. One group, led by Alexander Hamilton, saw the opportunity as a chance to control the Mississippi River, increase trade, expand our territories, and get closer to the Pacific.

Political arguments against the purchase

• A second group, led by Timothy Pickering and Aaron Burr, feared that the west would gain too much strength, could sour relations with Britain, and put the US into conflict with Spain. Some northern states threatened secession, though Hamilton was able to arbitrate and end the conflict.

The final deal

•France turned over New Orleans on December 20, 1803.

Spanish Conflict

• Spain disputed the sale immediately. Napoleon had included Spanish claims in TX and NM in the sale, and western FL, and had also broken a previous agreement to not sell the territory to a third-party. Disputes and sometimes armed conflicts in the new territories persisted in the new lands between the US and Spain until 1819, when Spain sold FL to the US for $5 million.