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October 20, 1803

U.S. Senate ratifies the Louisiana Purchase


On this day in 1803, the U.S. Senate approves a treaty with France providing for the purchase of the territory of Louisiana, which would double the size of the United States.

At the end of 18th century, the Spanish technically owned Louisiana, the huge region west of the Mississippi that had once been claimed by France and named for its monarch, King Louis XIV. Despite Spanish ownership, American settlers in search of new land were already threatening to overrun the territory by the early 19th century. Recognizing it could not effectively maintain control of the region, Spain ceded Louisiana back to France in 1801, sparking intense anxieties in Washington, D.C. Under the leadership of Napoleon Bonaparte, France had become the most powerful nation in Europe, and unlike Spain, it had the military power and the ambition to establish a strong colony in Louisiana and keep out the Americans.

Realizing that it was essential that the U.S. at least maintain control of the mouth of the all-important Mississippi River, early in 1803 President Thomas Jefferson sent James Monroe to join the French foreign minister, Robert Livingston, in France to see if Napoleon might be persuaded to sell New Orleans and West Florida to the U.S. By that spring, the European situation had changed radically. Napoleon, who had previously envisioned creating a mighty new French empire in America, was now facing war with Great Britain. Rather than risk the strong possibility that Great Britain would quickly capture Louisiana and leave France with nothing, Napoleon decided to raise money for his war and simultaneously deny his enemy plum territory by offering to sell the entire territory to the U.S. for a mere $15 million. Flabbergasted, Monroe and Livingston decided that they couldn't pass up such a golden opportunity, and they wisely overstepped the powers delegated to them and accepted Napoleon's offer.

Despite his misgivings about the constitutionality of the purchase (the Constitution made no provision for the addition of territory by treaty), Jefferson finally agreed to send the treaty to the U.S. Senate for ratification, noting privately, "The less we say about constitutional difficulties the better." Despite his concerns, the treaty was ratified and the Louisiana Purchase now ranks as the greatest achievement of Jefferson's presidency.

Following up on the historical theme (from the Yorktown discussion)

This was after the undeclared war between France and the US - including the battle with Truxtun in the Constellation that caused a French ship to surrender - and then un-surrender when the Ameircans were disabled!

And following the French army being destroyed in Haiti by rebels and disease.

So the sale was an obvious move for France - espeically when Haiti was worth much more (at the time).

Love it. Un-surrendering yourself [:D]

Reminds me of the old days of playing war (with plastic guns, etc...):

"I shot you!"

"No way, I dodged!"

Cut to 200 years ago:

"But you surrendered!"

"Hah, foolish American! I unsurrendered!"

[:D]

This was after the undeclared war between France and the US - including the battle with Truxtun in the Constellation that caused a French ship to surrender - and then un-surrender when the Ameircans were disabled!

The not-so-famous "Quasi War". Strangely enough, this was partly instigated by a man who would later become president of the United States. Little known fact was that James Monroe, one of our diplomats in Paris, encouraged the French Revolutionary Government to attack US shipping (which, correct me if i am wrong, should maybe be considered treason.[&:][X(]) This resulted from political infighting in the US at the time.

Later Monroe would help secure the Louisiana purchase.

Also little known is that the Quasi War actually resulted in the birth of the US Navy. Prior to that, the Continental Navy had been dismantled, and the only ships the United States had was a few revenue cutters. The weakness (or non-existance) of US seapower also was a contributing factor to the French attacking US shipping which was the proximate cause of the war.

I'm probably one of the only history teachers in the whole country that actually teaches his kids about the Quasi-War. I do it simply so I can tell the tale of Truxton and the Connie!