Before Thomas Jefferson ever entered the presidency, he believed in the “Empire of Liberty.” He wrote in a letter to a friend that “Our confederacy must be viewed as the nest from which all America, North or South, is to be peopled.” His motives for the intense eye on American expansion were greatness for his country, as well as for himself. He was disgusted with the idea of North America being divided into nation-states like Europe. His goal was for the ideals of the American Revolution to spread over the whole continent. He passed and helped pass some of the legislation that helped early America expand. He co-authored the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, which allowed for states to be made from the territory east of the Mississippi and north of the Ohio River. Jefferson’s desire for exploring the lands west of the Mississippi had been around for fifty years. Jefferson’s father was a member of the Loyal Land Company. After American Independence, there were four plans to explore the west; Jefferson was behind three of those plans. The Louisiana Purchase divided the political country, before and after the actual purchase. I intend to show these sides by examining documents from Jefferson, his colleagues, and the opposition to the Purchase, as well as international deterrents to the Purchase.
Jefferson’s dream of a transcontinental America can be shown in his letters to governors and political leaders in the western states and territories. His letter to William Henry Harrison, who was governor of Indiana, is a prime example of his attitude to consolidate all the territory east of the Mississippi. Jefferson claimed to insist on maintaining a peace with the Indian tribes, as long as they were willing to sell their land t...
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David A. Carson argues in “Blank Paper of the Constitution: The Louisiana Purchase Debates” that Thomas Jefferson did abandon his political ideals when purchasing Louisiana (P. 1). The Louisiana Territory gave the United States control of the Mississippi Valley and the mainland of North American, and it opened the doors for the expansion of slavery across the country (P. 3). Although the acquisition of Louisiana was important to the success and growth of the United States, Carson states that President Jefferson, “Saw that it threatened to make “blank paper” of the Constitution since it expanded the powers of the national government further than even the most die-hard Federalists could have imagined” (P. 3). On the 16th of July, two days after Jefferson received the purchased treaty, he called together his cabinet to help plan the course of the agreements through Congress (P. 4). The cabinet agreed to assemble Congress on the 17th of October to give both houses enough time to act before the closing day of October 30th (P. 4).
The number 1 president of the U.S. Is George Washington. He was a commanding officer while the American Revolution was taking place and he is still one of the main authoritative and famous people in U.S. history. His benefaction stretches out really far out maybe even compared to others in the history of America. George was incorporated two different times in Germantown taking part in history. While the rebellion was taking place (1770s) George directed the U.S. forces in the Germantown war. The way to avoid the Yellow Fever Epidemic (1773), was that the statehouse had to move to Germantown, from Philadelphia. Inside of the Germantown homestead inhabitant Major Franks, George stayed there and encountered his council, that involved Alexander
For around three cents per acre, 15 million in total, the land would have been as if one was giving land away in modern days. But even when the purchase was made, it was a steal. But this is exactly what was needed, land, and more land. A place to grow larger, somewhere to call ours. But even then that we bought the land, we did not know what was upon the land. To even have any knowledge of what was in the land, there were ones who were paid to be sent out to see what the land had to offer us. This was a very scary risk for him as he didn’t know if the land would have anything to offer. Though these peoples main purpose was to map out the land for it to be sent out. But if anything were to come up wrong in the purchase, Jefferson’s reputation would be ruined. Not only would they think that his opinions were useless, but he would no longer be a man anyone will
The Louisiana Purchase stands as an iconic event today that nearly doubled the size of America, ultimately introducing the United States as a world power. In 1762, during the Seven Years’ War, France ceded its control of the Louisiana Territory to Spain (Britannica). However, when Napoleon Bonaparte assumed control of France in 1799, France rallied as a world power once more. Bonaparte’s interest in the Louisiana Territory spiked, and he pressured Spain’s king, Charles IV to relinquish his control of the land on October 1, 1800. This was known as the Treaty of San Ildefonso (Britannica). In view of the transfer between France and Spain, president Thomas Jefferson sent Robert R. Livingston to Paris in 1801. Jefferson became worried, because
Thomas Jefferson’s presidential actions are often less remembered than his work on the Declaration of Independence and his other Revolutionary War contributions, despite their impact on how the United States would, literally, take shape. There were many outcomes from his time in office, the eight years from 1801 to 1809, some good, others less so. Still, I believe that, on the whole, his administration benefited the nation. For one thing, President Jefferson’s Louisiana Purchase added hundreds of thousands square miles to the size of the United States. Another, though less direct influence he had was that, in initiating the case of Marbury v. Madison, he unintentionally aided the Supreme Court in gaining the power to exercise judicial review.
The Louisiana purchase was a very significant event in the United States of America that changed the country we live in today. Since, “1762, Spain had owned the territory of Louisiana, between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains” (Office of the Historian). This purchase led to many great things due to the French now having possession over it. Even though the French sold major land in the Louisiana Purchase, the money gained by France and the land acquired by America was a win for both sides of the deal.
During the early to mid eighteen hundreds, there was great unrest across the country over territorial expansion. Half of the nation believed that it would be beneficial to the country if we expanded, while the other half were firmly opposed to expansion. Within the century, the United States managed to claim Texas, California, and the majority of Indian-owned lands. Opinions on this expansion were mixed around the country. Polls taken during the time period show that the majority of the south and west supported expansion, while northerns were opposed to it. (Document B) This was because the northerners had different values and beliefs than the southerners of westerners. Both the opponents and supporters of territorial expansion during the time period between 1800 and 1855, had a tremendous influence on shaping federal government policy. However, it can be argued that the supporters of territorial expansion had the largest impact. They were able to sway the federal government to create policies and new laws that were in favor of supporter’s beliefs.
Two issues during the early republic were the ratification of the Constitution and the purchase of the Louisiana Territory. The Constitution of the United States was written in 1787, yet there was a struggle for its ratification that went on until 1790. The Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition by the United States of America in 1803.
During the period 1800-1817, the Jeffersonians to a great extent compromised their political principles and essentially “out Federalized the Federalists”. While traditional Jeffersonian Republicanism advocated a strict interpretation of the Constitution and an emphasis on an agrarian economic system, the actual policies of Presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Madison were markedly different from their theoretical principles. This obvious compromise of Jeffersonian principles is evident in the Federal government’s assumption of broad-based political powers and institution of capitalistic Hamiltonian economic reforms, both of which stemmed from Jefferson and Madison’s adoption of broad constructionist policies.
The late 1800’s was a watershed moment for the United States, during which time the Industrial Revolution and the desire for expansion brought about through Manifest Destiny, began to run parallel. Following the end of the Spanish-American war, the United States found itself with a wealth of new territory ceded to it from the dying Spanish empire. The issue of what to do with these new lands became a source of debate all the way up to the U.S. Congress. Men like Albert J. Beveridge, a Senator from Indiana, advocated the annexation, but not necessarily the incorporation of these new l...
Did Thomas Jefferson make the right deal on purchasing the Louisiana Territory in 1803? I believe Thomas Jefferson made the right choice of accepting the deal Napoleon Bonaparte offered. The Louisiana Purchase was one of the biggest and cheapest land deals in United States history. The Louisiana Purchase involved two countries, the United States and France, and a big bill for the newly formed United States. Thomas Jefferson doing his best to follow the constitution would soon find it difficult to do so. When Spain gave the Louisiana territory back to France, Jefferson was hit with a dilemma. Thomas Jefferson was caught between his ideas and reality, and with the Pinckney Treaty now void, Jefferson had to find a way to get access to the Mississippi
Lewis, James E. The Louisiana Purchase: Jefferson's Noble Bargain?. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press, 2003.
to Europe to try to persuade the British to accept a military alliance should the
Though initially his decision was criticized, Thomas Jefferson 's pursuit of the Louisiana Purchase doubled the size of the United States, as well as impacted the economy, religion, and race of the nation.
In 1803 the United States would make the largest and possibly most controversial land purchases in American history, the Louisiana Purchase. During the years leading up to this event the United States was still trying to solidify a national identity. There were two subjects that were causing for division of the new national identity, one being westward expansion. The Northern states and Federalists opposed the idea of westward expansion while the Southern States and the Jeffersonians backed this purchase. Although there was a struggle for a single national identity and this controversial purchase did not aid in finding that single identity, it was still the right decision for the United States. By purchasing this land from the French the United States would not share a colonial boundary with the French who were continuing to gain power under Napoleon. Purchasing the Louisiana Territory would prove to be beneficial for the United States for more reason than one.