Louisiana Purchase Essay Example For Students

Louisiana Purchase Essay When Thomas Jefferson became president of the United States in 1801, he dreamed of sending an expedition to explore the little-known territory west of the Mississippi river. Between 1783 and 1792 Jefferson has encouraged plans for three expeditions. All three expeditions failed. In January, 1803, he asked Congress for $2,500 to pay for an expedition that might journey as far as the Pacific Ocean. The request was approval and kept secret because most of the region to be explored still belonged to France. This vast area, lying between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains, was called Louisiana in honor of Louis XIV of France. When President Jefferson learned of the Treaty of San Ildefonso, between Napoleon and Spanish rulers, which gave Louisiana back to the French, he was very worried. On October 15, 1802, the King of Spain finally gave the order transferring Louisiana to France, but the Spanish governor in New Orleans didnt know of this order. The following day he suddenly withdrew the right of deposit. This was the right given to American shippers that allowed them to leave their goods at New Orleans while awaiting transfer onto ocean going vessels. Many people felt threatened over this and thought that we should go in and take Louisiana by force. At this point in time Napoleons dream would never come true because France was almost always at war. They didnt have enough troops to go over to America and guard the Louisiana territory. Another main concern of Napoleon was that France was running very low on money and Napoleon knew that this piece of land would get them the money that they so very needed. Napoleon stated that this was the very last resort that they would use to get money. Napoleon heard that the Americans might try and take over New Orleans by force with their continental army. Napoleon really didnt know when, but he thought that the Americans would probably try and do it when the French engage in their next war or battle. With France getting poorer and poorer and his army getting weaker and weaker he decided to give up claims on the Louisiana territory. On April 30, 1803 Napoleon signed a treaty saying that the French were to give up the claims on the territory. The poor and tired of fighting France sold the Louisiana territory to the United States or the Americans for about fifteen million needed dollars. Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, made many great decisions and accomplished many things in and out of office. I personally think that the greatest accomplishment that Thomas Jefferson ever did was the purchase of the Louisiana territory .Their were many reasons why Thomas Jefferson wanted to purchase this piece of land. The first reason is that this land was great for farming. This land is able to grow many different crops such as: flour, tobacco, cotton, corn, potatoes, apples, and carrots for a few. The ports in New Orleans were a very big asset to the Americans because it would make it easier to trade, import, and export goods from other countries. With New Orleans and Florida included in the Louisiana Purchase gave the Americans many different ports for trading. This also helped the United States Navy, with all these new ports the Americans could strengthen their defense and improve the navy. At this time the French were very poor and needed the money so Jefferson knew he would get this piece of land for a very cheap price. For fifteen million dollars the United States acquired Florida, the Mississippi river, New Orleans, Rocky Mountains, sea ports , and the miles and miles of rich farmland all came with the Louisiana Purchase. All in all everything went smoothly, but there was one minor problem with this treaty. The problem was that Jefferson still did not how much land that he actually purchased. He knew it was a lot but, did not know the exact specifications or were it started and ended. Spain and the United States disputed over what land each one of them would get. The main issue in this dispute was, who would get Florida and who would get Texas. Jackie robinson Essay Indeed, the one area that Jefferson and his .