Summary
Perhaps the greatest contribution of Thomas Jefferson's administration was
the Louisiana Purchase. Jefferson did not come into office with the desire
to expand the nation. On October 1, 1800, Spain ceded the Louisiana Territory
to France in the Treaty of San Ildefonso. The territory was equal in size to
the entire United States at the time. Napoleon Bonaparte envisioned a Caribbean
empire, with the Louisiana Territory providing the resources to support the
center of the empire on the island of Santo Domingo (now Haiti). At the time
the Treaty of San Ildefonso was signed, Santo Domingo was controlled by former
slaves, under Toussaint L'Ouverture, who had driven their masters from the
island. Napoleon dispatched the French army to regain control of the island,
but the islanders met the troops with fierce resistance. Faced with this
resistance, and many troops suffering from yellow fever, the French retreated in
defeat. Napoleon gave up on his plan for a Caribbean empire.
By 1802, France had still not taken control of the Louisiana Territory, leaving
it in the hands of the Spanish despite the fact that the land belonged to
France. In October 1802, the Spanish colonial administrator in New Orleans
prohibited American crops from being deposited at the port of New Orleans before
being shipped to other nations. This severely constricted US commerce in the
southwest, and many Americans believed, incorrectly, that the order had actually
come from Napoleon. Fears of French control of the Louisiana Territory, and
especially of New Orleans, loomed large. Jefferson began efforts to ingratiate
himself to the British in preparation fro enlisting their aid against the
French.
Jefferson sent James Monroe and Robert Livingston to France with the intention
of negotiating the purchase of the port of New Orleans, in an attempt to end, at
long last, American difficulties there. He also instructed them to negotiate
the purchase, if possible, of as much of Florida as possible. However, the
envoy found Napoleon had given up on his plan for a Caribbean empire in order to
focus on the war in Europe. In order to finance French efforts in Europe, he
wanted to sell all of the Louisiana Territory. After some negotiation, the
price was set at $15 million in April 1803, for which the US gained an enormous,
uncharted piece of land to the west of the Mississippi River. For the price of
approximately 13.5 cents per acre, the United States had doubled its size.
Jefferson, always the strict constructionist,
feared that the purchase would be deemed unconstitutional. Therefore, he
personally drafted a constitutional amendment authorizing the national
government to acquire new lands and allowing for the indefinite settlement of
the new territory. However, Jefferson and his colleagues feared the time it
would take to adopt a new amendment might allow the deal to slip through their
fingers. Urged by fellow Republicans, he dropped the amendment and
submitted the treaty that provided for the Louisiana Purchase to the Senate,
where it was speedily ratified.
Jefferson had long imagined an "empire of liberty" that would span North
America, and perhaps even extend into South America. However, he did not enter
office with any clear plans for expansion. With Spain, an increasingly weak
power, in control of the Louisiana Territory, Jefferson reasoned that it was
only a matter of time until the US would have an opportunity to expand westward.
However, once the Louisiana Territory changed hands, the situation changed.
Jefferson did not trust France, or more specifically Bonaparte, to stay out of
North American affairs. He feared the nation would find itself wedged between
Britain in Canada and France in Louisiana, a weaker player in a North American
geographical struggle dominated by the world's two largest powers.
When the Spanish closed the port of New Orleans to American crops, Jefferson was
forced to act in defense of American interests. He sought only to end the
longstanding quarrels over New Orleans and counterbalance French advances in
North America by purchasing parts of Florida. However, Napoleon presented the
US with another option, which, while Jefferson had not seriously considered it,
fascinated him. In the end, it proved a wise decision to purchase the Louisiana
Territory. The nation doubled its geographical size, gained access to the
resources of the wilderness and important waterways for travel and commerce.
Additionally, the Louisiana Territory served as a sort of buffer zone, keeping
foreign powers in North America at a greater distance from the primary
population of the United States.
