Advantages And Disadvantages Of The Louisiana Purchase

The Louisiana Purchase presented a moral dilemma to Thomas Jefferson that was fueled by the advantages and disadvantages of the deal as well as his interpretation of the constitution and how the Purchase could affect his political standing.

Thomas Jefferson’s moral dilemma regarding the Louisiana Purchase originated from his previous interpretations of the Constitution and political position. Jefferson was apprehensive when making the decision to purchase the Louisiana Territory because the act of buying territory “went against [his] own well-stated positions of states ' rights and strict constitutional construction” since it was not outlined in the Constitution (http://history.msu.edu). In a letter to John Breckenridge, Jefferson expresses

Perhaps the greatest advantage of buying the Louisiana territory was avoiding a potential war with France. Jefferson had originally wanted to peacefully acquire the land from the declining Spanish empire, but a plan of peaceful waiting was disrupted by the prospect of having “much more powerful France … as a next-door neighbor” (http://www.monticello.org). Once France took over the territory, Jefferson knew he had to act quickly and with “action more visible than diplomatic maneuvering”, so he quickly sent Robert Livingston, and later James Monroe to France, initially only to bargain for the purchase of the port city New Orleans (http://www.monticello.org) (http://www.presidentprofiles.com). However, France’s problems regarding North American colonization continued to mount: the French army was unable to put down a slave uprising in Hispaniola, and the French were at war with the British (http://www.encyclopedia.com). Realizing that his dreams of American colonization were over, and that he needed money to fund his war, Napoleon, realizing the “futility of his plan” authorized a fifteen million dollar counter-offer to the U.S offer to buy New Orleans for two million (http://www.encyclopedia.com). Realizing that there would not be a better time, or offer, Jefferson signed the treaty and “Congress quickly approved the purchase”, taking advantage of the French misfortune to double the size of the U.S (http://www.encyclopedia.com). The deal appealed to Jefferson, who would rather acquire the territory through peaceful means than “through fifty thousand men” and a costly war (James Jackson to the Senate). Senator James Jackson used arguments like these to convince the wary members of the senate that “seem[ed] to be displeased” that the Purchase of Louisiana came “peaceably and at probably ten times less expense than… forcible