The Louisiana Purchase and its Consequences

998 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The louisiana purchase thematic essay causes and effects

The Louisiana Purchase could be known as one of the greatest real estate deals of all time. On April 30, 1803, America expanded from seventeen states to a country almost doubled that size for the price of fifteen million dollars. That equates to about three cents per acre. About 828,000 square miles of western territory that became six states and parts of nine additional present day states. (History.com Staff 2009) The Louisiana Purchase was a result of many factors that took place. A couple of these factors are the Spanish control of New Orleans and Napoleon’s desire for the Caribbean Island of Haiti.

The boundaries of the territory consist of the Mississippi River on the east, the Gulf of Mexico on the south, the Rocky Mountains on the west and Canada along the northern boundary. It was originally claimed by France and later, as a result of the 1763 Treaty of Paris, was rewarded to Spain for their assistance to the French during the war. The French considered the Louisiana Territory worthless at the time. The Mississippi River was extremely important in the economic growth. Large numbers of settlers gravitated along the river for its fertile farmlands, prairies, pastures and forests. The region also held large deposits of various minerals as well. Buffalo and other wild game were plentiful and offered an abundant food supply for the Native Americans who peopled the region as well. (Dictionary of American History 2003)

Spain had concerns of settlers spilling over through their borders and wanted to restrict Americans from the usage of the Mississippi River by not allowing them to pass supplies and goods through the port city of New Orleans. After a great deal of disputes between Spain and the United States, on the su...

... middle of paper ...

...te American growth towards the west. The following year, a territorial government was established. This afforded the opportunity for settlers to seek out new places and start new beginnings in the American way.

Bibliography

Dictionary of American History. Encyclopedia.com. 2003. http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Louisiana_Purchase.aspx#1 (accessed May 23, 2014).

Fleming, Thomas J. The Louisiana Purchase. Turning Points.Hoboken, N.J, 2003.

Harriss, Joseph. "How the Louisiana Purchase Changed the World." Smithsonian Magazine, APR 2003.

History.com Staff. Louisiana Purchase. 2009. http://www.history.com/topics/louisiana-purchase (accessed May 21, 2014).

Randolph, Dr. Stephen. Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs, United States Department of State. http://history.state.gov/milestones/1801-1829/louisiana-purchase (accessed May 20, 2014).

Show More
Related

  • Louisiana Purchase Dbq

    808 Words  | 2 Pages

    This was something that was really important for trade and the extension to westward. In the 1800s, the Louisiana Purchase is still considered the most important occurrence in the westward being spread out of the U.S. and is a trial to include a different ethnic group. This was the starting point of the encounter with multi-ethnicity boarders. The Louisiana Purchase the way that the nation used to be and had a intense result on what the nation would become later on. The new regions of the purchase demonstrated a notable obstacle to the essentially Anglo-Protestant, young nation known as America. The more south part of the purchase was in result an overseas region. Many the people residing there's origin was African, Mediterranean, and Caribbean. Most of them had a divergent viewpoint of race, law, and government. Admittedly the Louisiana Purchase began the nation's experience with a variety of races that went on and on across the next couple centuries and is still going on to this

    Read More

  • BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS

    470 Words  | 1 Pages

    The United States acquired the Louisiana Territory from France in 1803, thereby gaining control of the Mississippi River, and its watershed at the golf of Mexico. The U.S. government realized how important this was and its potential of becoming a great trading post. By 1812 this area called New Orleans grew as expected in size and importance. In peace it was a commercial outlet and trading center of the western United States.

    Read More

  • George Washington's National Identity In 'Founding Gardeners'

    1090 Words  | 3 Pages

    This transaction would come to be known as the Louisiana Purchase and nearly doubled the size of the new nation. While George Washington and John Adams made efforts at westward expansion, Thomas Jefferson secured the Louisiana Purchase and initiated the Lewis and Clark expedition. According to Wulf, “maybe Lewis would find the huge mastodon roaming across the plains; discover profitable crops, flowers in exotic shapes and sizes, and trees that would soar even higher than those already encountered. Jefferson planned this expedition in the name of science, but it would also be the beginning of a distinctly American glorification of the wilderness” (Wulf, 157). The Lewis and Clark expedition and the Louisiana Purchase had such a significant impact on America’s identity.

    Read More

  • Louisiana Purchase Dbq

    443 Words  | 1 Pages

    Jefferson recognized that the purchase would be “beyond constitutional,” (Jefferson) but his desire to expand America undermined his “legal scruples” (book). The Republicans and Thomas Jefferson supported the acquisition, because it was favorable to the “immediate interests of” the “western citizens” (book). The also believed it would create a more safe and peaceful environment, in a way that would separate French and American authorities. The federalists on the other hand, disagreed with the treaty for various reasons. They were worried that westward expansion would increase wages on the Atlantic coast by “reducing and lowering the value of real estate in their region” (book). The federalists knew that the states to that would be created from the new land would be settled by Jeffersonian Republicans, ultimately establishing a stronger Republican foothold in the country. Despite the feuds between the two groups, the Senate ratified the treaty with a vote of twenty-six to six, and on December 20, 1803, America took possession of the Louisiana

    Read More

  • The Influence Of Thomas Jefferson's Louisiana Purchase

    1033 Words  | 3 Pages

    It also allowed for continued easy trade through New Orleans, which was a major motivation to make the Purchase (History). However, it did have its negative consequences, namely that, while France may have sold the land, many Native Americans still considered it their home, and for Jefferson’s plan to fill the land with farmers to succeed, they would have to be removed, additionally much of the wildlife on this frontier suffered. Though this probably would have happened even if Jefferson did not make the purchase, his action did speed up the

    Read More

  • James Monroe Research Paper

    1286 Words  | 3 Pages

    The states above 35 30 latitude line in the Louisiana purchase were all free states. States below the line were slave states. Former president Thomas Jefferson saw what the potential anger build up could lead to and tried to warn the congress. Henry Clay came up with the American System which is where the government paid for road and canals. Monroe took no time shooting this idea down. Monroe believed that states and cities should pay for the roads and canals.

    Read More

  • Impact of the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark Expedition

    1206 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Louisiana Purchase came as a surprise that neither Thomas Jefferson nor anyone else had ever dreamed of. It began with Thomas Jefferson sending two men, James Monroe and Robert R. Livingston, to Paris to negotiate the acquisition of New Orleans with the government of the feared Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon had roused fears once France acquired Louisiana from the Spanish. Concerned with French intentions, Thomas Jefferson took immediate action and sent his two men to negotiate. The negotiation didn’t go as intended at all. We asked to buy New Orleans, but Napoleon offered the entire Louisiana Territory. Apparently, Napoleon had little use for Louisiana. He also couldn’t spare any troops to defend the enormous amount of territory. Napoleon needed funds more than anything, so he could support his military ventures in Europe. This led to the exhilarating time of April, 1803 when Napoleon offered to sell Louisiana to the United States.

    Read More

  • The Cajun and Creole Culture of Lousiana

    1204 Words  | 3 Pages

    In 1784, the King of Spain consented to allowing the Acadians to settle in Southern Louisiana. However, when the Acadians arrived, they had some issues with the French aristocracy who didn’t really want them there, so this caused the Acadians to head west of the city of New Orleans into unsettled territory.... ... middle of paper ... ... Southern Quarterly 44.3 (2007): 68-84.

    Read More

  • Taking a Look at the Louisiana Purchase

    1232 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many years before the Louisiana purchase was thought of, this land was owned by several Native American tribes which included men and woman. “Evidence shows they had extensive cultural and economic exchange networks with tribes around them, reaching as far south as Mexico, Central American and the Caribbean. Material goods were traded, as being language, technology, and recreational practices” (The Louisiana Purchase). The Native Americans were good people who were very humble, but unfortunately “they were overwhelmed by the Europeans and disappeared as a distinct group before the 19th century” (The Louisiana Purchase).

    Read More

  • Ratification of the Constitution and the Louisiana Purchase

    551 Words  | 2 Pages

    There wasn’t much issue surrounding the purchase of the Louisiana Territory. A war wasn’t even required to acquire the land as document 5 explains. The major problem was that the Federalist Party argued that the Louisiana Purchase was a worthless dessert, and the constitution did not provide for the acquisition of new land or negotiating treaties without the consent of the Senate (Document 5).

    Read More

  • Louisiana Purchase

    1262 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Louisiana Purchase was the most influential and important land purchases in American history. The acquired land in this historical purchase proved to far outweigh what most Americans at the time could imagine. The Louisiana Purchase more than doubled the size of the United States, and lead to many great discoveries and societal benefits. Some of the major and most prominent ways that the Louisiana Purchase influenced the evolution of American were the expeditions of Louis and Clark on the newly acquired westward territory, increase in the countries resources, which in turn increased in trade and resulted in a richer, more economically stable country, and it also played a very pivotal role in the relationship with African Americans, which still is remembered and prevalent in today's society.

    Read More

  • The Louisiana Purchase

    295 Words  | 1 Pages

    to Europe to try to persuade the British to accept a military alliance should the

    Read More

  • History: The Indian Removal Act

    1103 Words  | 3 Pages

    In 1830, President Andrew Jackson passed the Indian Removal Act. This let him negotiate with the Native Americans for their lands. Although the si...

    Read More

  • A Brief History of the State of Louisiana

    1809 Words  | 4 Pages

    Since 1541, Louisiana has been ruled under ten different flags, starting with Hernando de Soto’s flag, a man who claimed the region for Spain (“About Louisiana”). For six weeks after the Civil War had first started, Louisiana had become an independent commonwealth before finally joining the Confederacy. The Louisiana Purchase was negotiated by President Thomas Jefferson, in 1803, in order to get a part of Louisiana in American hands, which was considered essential (“About Louisiana”). Louisiana was a center for trading and finances during most of its early history and it was one of the most prosperous regions in America due to the act that its land was very abundant. On April 30, 1812, after being admitted into the union, Louisiana became the eighteenth state of the United States (“About Louisiana”). Later on, after sulphur and oil were unearthed in 1869 and 1901, Louisiana became a part of the major industry of America that produces oil and natural gas which is what Louisiana is still a part of to this day. Many people assume that the capital of Louisiana is New Orleans because it is the most populated and one of the most popular cities, but the capital is actually Baton Rouge. Louisiana also has a motto that states “Union, Justice, Confidence.” (“About Louisiana”).

    Read More

  • Geographic Factors that Influenced U.S Government Actions

    544 Words  | 2 Pages

    One action taken by the United States government that was influenced by geographic factors was the Louisiana Purchase. There were many historical circumstances that resulted in the government’s action. Louisiana was originally owned by the French until France sold it to the United States. Thomas Jefferson bought Louisiana in 1803. The influence of this geographic factor occurred because as the United States had expanded westward, navigation of the Mississippi River and access to the port of New Orleans had become critical to American commerce. The purchase of the Louisiana territory, including New Orleans, was for $15 million. The acquisition of approximately 827,000 square miles would double the size of the United States. This also gave the United States control of the Mississippi River. This had a lot of impacts on the United States. It increased western expansion which was included in the Manifest Destiny. The Manifest Destiny was a 19th-century doctrine that the United States had the right and duty to expand throughout the North American continent. But, this expansion did lead to conflicts...

    Read More

More about The Louisiana Purchase and its Consequences

Open Document