Louisiana Purchase

The Louisiana Purchase describes the United States acquisition of more than 529,911,680 acres (2,144,476 km2) of territory from France in 1803 for about $3/sq. mile or $11,250,000 (which, if adjusted for inflation, would equal approximately $193 million in 2005).

Negotiation

Jefferson had laid the groundwork for the purchase by sending Livingston to Paris in 1801 after discovering France's transfer of Louisiana from Spain. Livingston was to pursue a purchase of New Orleans but was rebuffed.

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In 1802 Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours was enlisted to help negotiate. Du Pont was living in the U.S. at the time and had close ties to Jefferson, as well as to the political powers in France. He engaged in back channel diplomacy with Napoleon, on Jefferson's behalf, during a personal visit to France. He originated the idea of the much larger Louisiana Purchase as a way to defuse potential conflict between the U.S. and Napoleon over North America.

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Jefferson hated the idea; purchasing Louisiana from France would imply that France had a right to be in Louisiana. Jefferson also believed that Presidents did not have the authority to engage in such a deal, and doing so would further erode states' rights. Talleyrand, likewise, was vehemently opposed to selling Louisiana, as it would mean an end to France's secret plans for North America.

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Throughout this time Jefferson had up to date intelligence on Napoleon's military activities and intentions in North America. Part of his evolving strategy involved giving du Pont information that was withheld from Livingston. He also gave the two intentionally conflicting instructions. The final stroke was sending Monroe to Paris in 1803. Monroe had been formerly expelled from France on his last diplomatic mission, and Jefferson's choice to send him was a pointed one, meant to convey a sense of deadly seriousness.

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Jefferson's strategy had the desired effect, instilling a sense of fear and uncertainty in the negotiations. Just days before Monroe's arrival, in April, Napoleon offered to sell all of Louisiana instead of just New Orleans.

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The American negotiators were prepared to spend $2 million for New Orleans, but were dumbfounded when the entire region from the Gulf of Mexico to Rupert's Land and from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains, which would double the size of the USA, was offered for less than 3 cents per acre ($7 per square kilometer). Although not authorized to make such a large purchase, Monroe and Livingston recognized the unique historic opportunity and accepted Napoleon's offer. Final negotiations were carried out with the Marquis de Barbé-Marbois, Napoleon's minister of the treasury.

Related Topics:
Rupert's Land - Marquis de Barbé-Marbois

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While Napoleon then had the most powerful army in Europe, he saw the sale of his American territory as a goodwill gesture and a strategic move against the British. A strong America would be a buffer against Britain when the inevitable showdown came (there is also the possibility that he wished to encourage the USA to assist with his embargo on strategic resources reaching the British, the Continental policy). The plan would, at the least, keep America out of the French conflict with Britain, and France out of North America.

Related Topics:
Europe - Continental policy

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More importantly, however, Napoleon was faced with the defeat of his armies in Saint-Domingue where an expeditionary force under his brother-in-law Charles Leclerc was attempting to reassert control of France's most profitable colony. The French had successfully deported Toussaint Louverture to France in June 1802, but yellow fever was destroying European soldiers and killed Leclerc himself in November. Perhaps more important, the racist policies of the French government in Guadeloupe and in Saint-Domingue itself led to an ongoing guerilla war and the defection of leading French officers, like the black general Jean-Jacques Dessalines and the mulatto officer Alexandre Pétion in October 1802. These setbacks eventually led Bonaparte to abandon his plans to rebuild France's New World empire. The French evacuated in November 1803, but the likelihood of their defeat was obvious a year earlier.

Related Topics:
Saint-Domingue - Charles Leclerc - Toussaint Louverture - Yellow fever - Guadeloupe - Jean-Jacques Dessalines - Mulatto - Alexandre Pétion

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The Louisiana Purchase Agreement called for two conventions to specify the financial aspects. The first (30 April 1803) was to call for the payment of 60 million francs ($11,250,000) and the second for claims that U.S. citizens had previously made against France for 20 million francs ($3,750,000).

Related Topics:
30 April - 1803 - Franc

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Napoleon added the money from the sale of the Louisiana territory to his massive war chest and began his plans to control the European continent. Between 1805 and 1807 he defeated Austria, Prussia and Russia and made himself master of most of Europe.

Related Topics:
1805 - 1807 - Austria - Prussia - Russia

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