The Pros And Cons Of The Louisiana Purchase

Thomas Jefferson had two options, to follow the constitution and what states has to say or to buy the Louisiana Purchase from France, and this was a dilemma. Not going through the states to get approval was a flaw saw by the people who were strong believers of the constitution. Though he himself was a strong believer in the constitution he chose to go ahead and buy the Louisiana Purchase. He knew he had to take this opportunity, for he wanted westward expansion. With that good of a mindset, Jefferson knew we would of course gain land, open up waterways, and help us grow as a country. He thought of things to benefit the U.S as a whole. He was not taking advantage of his power, nor was this was nothing as a selfish or conceited act. But was this the best for the U.S you may ask? Both Jefferson and I, think this will only benefit us.

If Jefferson bought the land thinking to do good, where would be the dilemma? The purchase crossed lines with his, quite strict, view of the rules of the constitution. He viewed the

constitution as strict because he wanted it to be respected. He thought of the constitution as, if it was writing within then the government must act upon it, if not if the president were to do something as buying the Louisiana Purchase, he could not. Buying the Purchase was where he crossed the lines, by the states, he more so did it as he did it without consulting the congress. But morally, he crossed it within himself. By doing so he made you question him, he was going against his own views. It would make you wonder if another would have done it, if he would have argued against it. He became a hypocrite to his own views, this was an issue within himself.
A hypocrite to one view but following another. He believed in something called Manifest Destiny, meaning the U.S was meant to be stretched from coast to coast. A prediction of what the U.S may become one may think, but little did they know that it would come true. The Louisiana Purchase may not have stretched from the coasts, but it was a start. In his eyes, he may have thought this was just a major push towards it, for it did just about doubled the size of U.S at the time the purchase was made. Although he knew it was benefitting the U.S, he started to have doubt after everything was official. A doubt on if the purchase was going to be a positive thing for the U.S. If this was going to benefitting us, and how.
But with miles, miles, and miles of land, what could we have possibly done with all of it?

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

trust.
The purchase not only added land to the U.S but we also gained New Orleans. Which New Orleans is the mouth of the Mississippi River. Finally a open water way, this is very important for the U.S. Reason being, a open water way also opening up trade. A water way that we actually have ownership to, this changed trade. Trading without a worry of having it revoked as it previously was, this was a weight lift. While they searched for what was upon the land, they knew farming was now going to be included. Find that the land was fertile and a great place to start growing. Now having water near by as a resource was also a benefit to this cause.
With so much happening with one purchase it forces the country to grow. We have to learn to adjust with all the new that the new land has provided for us. But this is anything but a bad thing. We were a country from the start of course, but we became bigger. We became a place where people wanted to live. This is where people came to get a fresh start. Land to farm, to start a new life and family. "The land of the free", the nickname of America. We really did grow as a country.
The Louisiana Purchase was what Thomas Jefferson chose over following his strict view of the constitution. It was a quick decision that he, at a point, doubted. Though he knew even though he went against what he believed in, he knew it was right. He did have a moral dilemma. But the way things have added up to benefit the country, he was no longer one. He had peace with the decision he made to buy it. For he believed in manifest destiny, this helped with some peace. But as it did add land, open up trades, and also, help us grow as a country. But in the end, this is what helped shaped the home we call the U.S, and this is what settled his peace. This is where we could have got the name of "The land of the free".