Louisiana Purchase Dilemmas Analysis

“Thomas Jefferson’s moral dilemmas for the Louisiana Purchase”

The Louisiana Purchase posed several moral dilemmas for Thomas Jefferson among these were many difficult factors to consider. Firstly it went against his strict constructionists views. There was also much opposition to buying the vast land. Lastly he could not ignore that if the French gained controlled of this region it could lead to severe problems that he could not ignore. This was a very big decision for President Thomas Jefferson and he was very conflicted about it but with much consideration he decided to make a deal that would end up changing the fate of American forever. One of the most vital dilemmas Jefferson faced was that purchasing of Louisiana went against all his

A Nation built on the backs of farmers is what he truly believed in and he believed the Louisiana Purchase would ultimately meet this goal, Jefferson stated that “If we can settle happily the difficulties of the Mississippi, I think we may promise ourselves smooth seas during our time.” (Carnes, Garraty p.g 181). Another great moral dilemma Thomas Jefferson faced was the great opposition towards the Louisiana Purchase among the people and congressmen. For Northerners the idea of spending fifteen million dollars on what one Federalist described as a “Gallo-Hispano-Indian” collection of “savages and adventures” (Carnes, Garraty p.g. 181) would not only be unconstitutional due to the lack of power assigned to do so, but would only really benefit the southern and western people due to most of the land being in that region. These ideas of who would be benefiting most lead to the idea of whether this land would become one mass state or several groups of states. People were also concerned because of the possible upsetting of the balance between slave states and non-slave states. This vast land scared and excited most Americans and Senators alike and posed another potential problem for if Americans were to migrate to these lands so distant and

The senators wanted the government to still have some control and they viewed this as something that would thin our government’s power, but the Louisiana Purchase opened the door for future leaders to take advantage of powers not specifically enumerated in the text of the Constitution lessening the influence the states had in domestic issues. (Bostian, 2001). Despite all the moral dilemmas that Thomas Jefferson faced when making the Louisiana Purchase the one thing most concerning was the idea that France may gain complete control of this area. Lead by the notorious general Napoleon Bonaparte the French posed a big threat to American trade, especially in the case of New Orleans which was one of the most important ports for trading with other countries. Jefferson’s concerns in this matter were made clear when he said “The day France takes possession of New Orleans we must marry ourselves to the British fleet and nation.” (Carnes, Garraty 2005 p.g. 179). When Jefferson considered everything set before