|
|
|
President Thomas Jefferson knew a bargain when he saw
one. In 1803, he persuaded Congress to purchase the Louisiana
Territory from France, doubling the size of the United States. Farmers west
of the Allegheny Mountains were anxious for the nation to own New Orleans
because control of the city meant control of the Mississippi River. The
farmers moved their goods to market on flatboats which traveled the river.
Thomas Jefferson The French Emperor Napoleon was at war with Great
Britain, which controlled the seas and French access to the territory. When
future President James Monroe went to France, he had. President Jefferson's
permission to buy New Orleans and West Florida for $10 million. But Napoleon sold him the entire Louisiana
Territory, with its nearly 530 million acres, for $15 million The New England
states were upset by the idea of having so many new states. They worried that
the new states' votes in Congress would give more power to the South and
called for withdrawing from the Union, but never did. Thirteen new states
eventually were carved out of this new land between the Mississippi River and
the Rocky Mountains.
Thomas Jefferson |
|
|
