The Louisiana Purchase

Louisiana Purchase (MLA Citation)

"Some Still Bitter Over U.S. Purchase of Louisiana"

Weeks after the recent ratification of a treaty with France ceding control of not only New Orleans to the United States, but the whole of the Louisiana Territory, some in Congress are still bitter about the deal. Speaking for the still angered Federalist opposition, Senator from Delaware, Samuel White, recently was quoted during a session of Congress as stating that while "he [President Jefferson] thinks a delivery sufficient to justify the payment of money we may not."[footnoteRef:1] And the expenditure of money was not the opposition's only complaint, as the Senator continued "…it is well-known that Spain considers herself injured by the treaty."[footnoteRef:2] Even after the Senate's ratification of the Treaty last October 20th, the opposition still seems to be quite strong. [1: Cerami, Charles A. Jefferson's Great Gamble. Naperville, Illinois: Source, 2003. pp. 215-216. Quoting Delaware Senator Samuel White, November 3, 1803. ] [2: Ibid.]

The United States first became serious about acquiring the port of New Orleans after it was ceded by Spain to France in October of 1800 in the infamous secret Third Treaty of San Ildefonso. And with France in control of the mouth of the Mississippi River, American trade was at the mercy of the French. But there were those who saw this as an opportunity, among whom was the President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson.. Upon hearing the news, Jefferson immediately wrote to the American Minister in France, Robert R. Livingston, "There is on the globe one single spot, the possessor of which is our natural and habitual enemy. It is New Orleans."[footnoteRef:3] [3: "Jefferson's Letter to Robert Livingston, April 18, 1802." The Life and Selected Writings of Thomas Jefferson. Web. 15 March 2011 http://www.bobsuniverse.com/BWAH/03-Jefferson/18202418a.pdf ]

Jefferson ordered Livingston to try to acquire the port in order to ensure the United States' free access to the ocean trade from the Mississippi River. The importance Jefferson placed upon this endeavor was demonstrated when he wrote "Every eye in the U.S. is now fixed on this affair of Louisiana. Perhaps nothing since the revolutionary war has produced more uneasy sensations through the body of the nation…"[footnoteRef:4] American trade down the Mississippi had been interrupted in the past and Americans wanted to ensure this never happened again. Even some members of Congress agreed that New Orleans was a potential danger to American trade and had authorized the executive branch "to commence with more effect a negotiation with the French and Spanish governments relative to the purchase from them of the island of New Orleans and the provinces of East and West Florida."[footnoteRef:5] [4: Ibid.] [5: Cerami]