The Louisiana Purchse

Here is my American History theme with my Works Cited page.

America was a young country, just getting its bearings, having just developed the Constitution. This Constitution was quickly put to the test, however, as well as the entire country and its people. It led to the expansion of slavery which then led to the creating of an intense rivalry between the North and South, ending in the Civil War. Westward expansion is also a result of the Louisiana Purchase and this Westward migration characterized the heart and soul of the American dream (Billington). The Louisiana Purchase shook the Constitution and the government as a whole, presenting it with challenges the government had never had to face before (Carson). The Louisiana Purchase is the most important event between 1789 and 1815 because it tested the strength of the Constitution, and set the stage for the rest of the major events in American history, most notably the Civil War and Westward expansion.

Before the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, America was considerably smaller, and easier to control, than it was afterwards. In total, the Louisiana Purchase, executed by Thomas Jefferson and Napoleon Bonaparte, gained America roughly 909,00 square miles of unexplored territory (Louisiana Purchase). The acquisition of such a large amount of territory undoubtedly shaped the future of America, quite literally. After the purchase went through, “It was later divided into the states known today as Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North and South Dakota, and Iowa. It also included parts of Montana, Colorado, Wyoming, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Alabama, Kansas, and Minnesota.” (McGill). Though the idea of gaining a large amount of territory sounds appealing, it was not without its problems. One of the most difficult problems that Jefferson had to deal with was the issue of the Constitutionality of the purchase. Before the Louisiana Purchase, nothing had been beyond the scope of the Constitution. “Thomas Jefferson himself saw that it threatened to make “blank paper” of the Constitution since it expanded the powers of the national government further than even the most diehard Federalists could have imagined” (Carson. 1). The Constitution did not cover the purchasing of any new territory or expansion of the Union. 

The issues surrounding the Louisiana Purchase revealed the major flaw in the Constitution: the Louisiana Purchase was not protected by the Constitution. This left Jefferson with two options; not purchase the Louisiana territory and pass up on the “greatest real estate deal in U.S. history” (Louisiana Purchase) or go against the Constitution and expand the governments powers like no president had ever done before. Passing up the Louisiana territory, at the time under the control of the French ruler, Napoleon Bonaparte (Louisiana Purchase), would mean giving up control of territory that had been fought for by many European countries and the trading routes that came with it (Louisiana Purchase). Were the benefits of this territory enough to bend, or even break, the rules laid out in the Constitution? Jefferson, a strict interpreter of the Constitution, did not think so and came up with the best solution; an amendment (Carson. 3). Time was not on Jefferson’s side, however, and left him with no time for an amendment. Napoleon was growing impatient (3) and Jefferson knew that the offer would only be good as long as Napoleon was in power (Louisiana Purchase). Despite this, he still had trouble sacrificing his political ideologies for the territory. A treaty was drawn up and the debates over it began. “The Northeastern Federalists took a hard line against the treaty. The denounced Virginian dominance, questioned the ability of the president to admit people of a foreign nation into the United States, and debated where the treat-making powers of the government lay” (Carson 7-8). The majority of the complaints that were raised were because of the fear of an unbalanced nation. If the Union did gain the Louisiana Territory, there would be far more Southwest territory than Northeast, creating a lack of balance of powers (8) and “‘lay the foundation for the separation of the states’” (9). Others said that the purchase did fall under the Constitution, specifically the part where it mentions the “provision for the general welfare and common defense” (8). Some members debating the purchase went so far as to describe it as “the greatest curse that could at present befall us” (8). Even though many people, including Jefferson himself, doubted the Louisiana Purchase, it was signed May 2, 1803 and taken possession of on December 20, 1803 (Louisiana Purchase), for better or for worse. 

Despite the great upheaval and debates surrounding the Louisiana Purchase, the treaty was pushed through and America gained control of an enormous amount of land, but, like it was anticipated, the nation became unbalanced. Foreshadowing the Civil War, “the purchase did broaden the influence of the South and West at the expense of the Northeast and laid the foundations for the spread of slavery, and the eventual---albeit temporary--- dissolution of the Union” (9). After the purchase of the Louisiana Territory, the Southwest territories far outnumbered the Northeast territories in the Union, allowing for a rivalry to be born between the two. This split would begin to increase with the expansion of slavery into the south, particularly into the infamous Southern plantations (slavery). Slavery had “reestablished itself as the backbone of Southern financial interests” (slavery) with the expansion of cotton as a major economic resource (slavery). In the South, slaves became a necessary part of the everyday functions of these plantations and were indirectly responsible for the cash-flow into the plantation. The South’s economy was dependent on slavery, so deeply was slavery entrenched into the culture. There was also the issue of admitting the new Southern states into the Union, and it quickly became a power struggle between the Northern and Southern politicians. With the Louisiana purchase there came an influx of new states wanting to be admitted into the Union, and the determining factor became slavery; if a state allowing slavery was admitted, then it was a sign that the Southern political influence was in control and if a state was admitted that did not allow slavery, it was a sign of Northern political influence (slavery). “Increasingly, Northern and Southern politicians came to view each other as members of a hostile camp, representing two opposing images of American life: one based on free labor and the other based on slave labor” (slavery). Finally, in 1861, the intense rivalry between the North and South erupted in the Civil War. The Northern’s victory over slavery ended with the Thirteenth Amendment being passed in 1865 but the African Americans did not have the same rights as Caucasians until the civil rights movement in the 1950’s (slavery). The end of the Civil War also did not mean the end of the rift as North and South rivalries still run deep to this day, especially in the South. The issue of civil rights is also still a complaint, with many African Americans and other minorities all over the country unhappy with their representation and lack of equality, the roots of which can be traced back to the precursors of the Civil War.   

There was more to this new Louisiana Territory than the famous North and South friction. The most important benefit from the territory was the westward expansion. The territory that so many Americans were drawn to was made by the “[pushing] its western border to the Rocky Mountains” (“Moving the Frontier West”). This pushing back of the border was made possible by the “Louisiana Purchase in 1803 and culminating in the 1848 Mexican Cession” (Billington. 2). Without the original Louisiana Purchase, the western border of America would not be farther than the Mississippi River (“Moving the Frontier West”). The U.S. government then passed the Homestead Act of 1862 encouraging the migration of American families into the West (Billington. 2). “The act granted 160 acres free to anyone,..., who agreed to build a house on the land, live there, and farm it for five years. The law also included a provision that allowed settlers to buy the land outright after they had lived on it for six months at the nominal price of $1.25 an acre” (2). This proved to be a huge incentive to the American people and led to other similar acts being passed, influencing even more people to migrate out West. Religious motives were also an important factor to moving out West, since a “free enjoyment of their liberty, property and the Religion which they profess” (“Louisiana Purchase Treaty (1803)”) could be found out in the unestablished West (Billington. 3). “Many nontraditional religious groups sought this freedom to worship as they pleased” (3) such as the Mormons and other minorities, especially African Americans having just been freed from slavery (3). Promising greater freedom, especially religious freedom, and tempting economical benefits, migrating Westward was difficult, many people dying or simply not being able to afford the cost of the migration (4). This difficulty, however, is what shaped the backbone of America. It was not easy for those people to travel out West, much less to successfully take root there, but many people did. They braved the new territory head-on, “[characterizing] the American dream that hard work would eventually lead to financial success” (1). 

The very heart of America is what it is today because of the Louisiana Purchase. It both literally and figuratively shaped the Union by dramatically increasing the amount of land America had control over and by testing the American people. The increase in the amount of land led to other deals that added onto the Union’s territories. The Constitution was also placed under a great deal of strain because of the question of the Constitutionality of the purchase. After the purchase, an unhealthy balance between the North and South territories developed, resulting in the Civil War. Many families also expanded westward, characterizing the American spirit. In 1803, the most important even between 1789 and 1815 was the Louisiana Purchase because it tested the strength of the Constitution, and set the stage for many major historical events that would change America, such as the Civil War and Westward expansion. The American Spirit and civil rights movements are still things that affect us today and have helped change America into the country that it is, and without the Louisiana Purchase, these major historical events would have never happened. 

Works Cited 

1. Carson, David A. “Blank Paper Of The Constitution: The Louisiana Purchase Debates.” Historian 54.3 (1992): 477. History Reference Center. Web. 12 Oct. 2013. 

2. Lerner Publishing, Group. "Moving The Frontier West." Conquest of the West. 8. US: Lerner Publishing Group, 2002. History Reference Center. Web. 24 Oct. 2013. 

3. “Louisiana Purchase.” American History. ABC-CLIO, 2013. Web. 12 Oct. 2013. 

4. “Louisiana Purchase Treaty (1803).” American History. ABC-CLIO, 2013. Web. 12 Oct. 2013. 

5. McGill, Sara Ann. "Louisiana Purchase." Louisiana Purchase (2009): 1-2. History Reference Center. Web. 24 Oct. 2013.

6. “slavery.” American History. ABC-CLIO, Web. 21 Oct. 2013

7. “westward expansion.” American History. ABC-CLIO, 2013. Web. 12 Oct. 2013.