Crucial to Louisiana Purchase for the United States

When the United States made the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, little did we know that this would be one of the biggest land deals in history and that it would be transformational for the United States. The Louisiana Purchase gave the United States an additional 530,000,000 acres of land. It helped the United States in many ways including that it doubled our land size, strengthened the country strategically and materially and allowed us to gain many natural resources. The United States bought the western half of the Mississippi River (known as the Louisiana Purchase) from France for fifteen million dollars, which is less than three cents per acre. Even though this was the best land purchase in United States history, it actually was too expensive for the United States and the U.S. was forced to borrow money from several European banks in order to complete the purchase. The Louisiana Purchase greatly benefited the United States by almost doubling the size of the United States and allowed the United States to push westward to gain a bigger and better economy. The Louisiana territory was named after King Louis XIV of France when it was explored by the French explorer Robert Cavalier de la Salle. The United States realized that the Louisiana territory would be very important for U.S. expansion and the U.S. even considered going to war over New Orleans. Prior to the purchase, Napoleon Bonapart, a French military and political leader, sent military force to secure New Orleans. Napoleon planned to revive the French empire in the New World. Not only would this halt the United State’s plans for expansion, but some feared that if the French secured the area that it would lead to the French freeing all the slaves in Louisiana which would have caused chaos throughout the United States. Thomas Jefferson was quoted as saying, “There is on the globe one singel spot, the possessor of which is our natural and habitual enemy. It is New Orleans.”

With France’s threat, President Jefferson sent James Monroe, minister to France and Great Britain and future President of the United States, to try to purchase New Orleans for 10 million dollars. Napoleon didn't agree to this so Monroe then attempted to make an alliance with England in case the U.S. needed to go to war. Meanwhile, France’s military stationed in Louisiana became overwhelmed with diseases such as yellow fever. With so many of his men dying from disease, Napoleon decided to give up his plans to rule Louisiana and surprisingly offered to sell the entire territory to the United States. Monroe only had authority to purchase New Orleans for 10 million dollars, but he agreed to the sale of the entire territory and the Louisiana Purchase was finalized. After the Louisiana Purchase, Jefferson’s presidency had many issues which lasted for years, including slavery nation wide and a crisis between the North and the South which caused states to want to leave the union. An example of this is, “Jefferson’s presidency was marked by two major issues. The first involved the role of slavery in the nation. Expansion of the United States sparked a crisis between the northern and southern states that nearly caused some states to leave the Union. This long lasting debate that lasted over two years centered on the expansion of slavery into new territories. 'The Missouri Compromise was reached after two years of debate, providing what would be a temporary solution. It established a boundary separating slave and free territories in the new parts of the country.” This activity demonstrates that the Louisiana Purchase caused years and years of issues that needed to be resolved. President Jefferson had many obstacles to face because of the purchase which included slavery and the push by the south to expand slavery to the new territory. Another major issue was that this new territory caused additional conflict between the north and the south that almost caused some states to leave the union.

Before the United States bought Louisiana, Thomas wanted to move westward because the U.S. was becoming crowded. Thomas Jefferson wanted to purchase New Orleans. It was stated that, ¨U.S. President Thomas Jefferson, who took office in 1801, believed that the growth of the nation depended on westward expansion and trade with other nations. Fearing that the French would stop Americans from using the New Orleans port or, worse, attempt to absorb the United States into its colony, Jefferson sent diplomats Robert Livingston (1746-1813) and James Monroe (1758-1831) to France. Their mission was to purchase New Orleans and West Florida from French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) for the price of $2 to $10 million.¨ This implies that Thomas Jefferson believed that growth of the nation meant moving westward and trading with other nations. Jefferson feared that the French would stop Americans from using the New Orleans port or push the United States into their colony.

With that being said Jefferson then sent Robert Livingston and James Monroe to France. Their goal was to purchase New Orleans and west Florida from anywhere between $2 million and $10 million. After the purchase of Louisiana, Thomas Jefferson wanted to understand all that the land had to offer and sent Lewis and Clark to explore the westward land and create maps of big landmarks along the lines of mountains and rivers. This would be very helpful for moving westward. ‘When they returned, the explorers were welcomed as heroes, and for good reason. The Lewis and Clark expedition produced useful maps and geographical information about previously unexplored land, rivers, and mountains, from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean. They established peaceful relations with several Native American tribes and gathered insights to help understand the culture of these people¨ This proves that when Lewis and Clark returned, they were heroes to the nation. Lewis and Clark provided a useful map and information about rivers, mountains and unexplored land. They found peaceful Native American tribes and gathered information about the culture of Natives.

In conclusion, the Louisiana Purchase was critical to the United States’ western expansion. The interesting thing is that the United States originally never asked to purchase all of Louisiana. They originally were only looking to purchase New Orleans. This additional territory would prove crucial for western expansion. This westward expansion helped the United States in many different ways such as doubling land size, strengthened the country strategically and materially and gained many natural resources. Purchasing Louisiana also helped the United States move forward and grow more rapidly especially since it included the western half of the mighty Mississippi river which provided a crucial means of transportation and communication. The westward expansion which started with the Louisiana Purchase started the United States on the path to become the powerful nation it is today.