Louisiana Purchase Advantages

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Louisiana Purchase had as many disadvantages and advantages for President Thomas Jefferson. The advantages nearly doubled the size of the United States for a bargain of a price; it gave our country’s farmers unrestricted access to the Mississippi River and the port of New Orleans for shipping; and it would later prove to be great help to the United States’ economy due to the incredible agricultural opportunities, transportation of goods and the abundance of gold, silver, and other ores. Though there were advantages there were disadvantages that came with it. Many were curious how the US would now defend and explore this enormous amount of land they now had. President Jefferson was in a bind on whether to make the deal due to his previous arguments against Alexander Hamilton concerning the limits of the constitution and presidential powers. The purchase also contributed to the growing …show more content…

The Louisiana Purchase increased the United States by approximately 828,000 square miles, nearly doubling the size of the young country (http://www.encyclopedia.com). The purchase was so large that it has been described as one of the greatest real estate deals in history. The Louisiana Territory stretched from the Mississippi River all the way to the Rocky Mountains and included what would eventually become 15 new states. With all the land that was gained, it allowed the growing population to expand westward. Now that Americans were starting to settle into their new land this clearly made the US the leading force in North America. Soon this would lead to Manifest Destiny, the idea that the US would expand reaching coast to coast. This showed European countries that America can make deals and negotiate with them despite being a new country and that they were on their way to becoming a power to be reckoned

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