2/27/2017
TJ
“There is on the globe one single
spot, the possessor of which is our
natural and habitual enemy.
It is New Orleans.”
• Thomas Jefferson
– 3rd Prez of the USA
• Served from 1801-1809
– Believed in expansion
and growth
– Really wanted to acquire
New Orleans
--Thomas Jefferson
Louisiana Territory
•
•
•
•
The Louisiana Purchase
800,000 square miles
Owned by the French
originally
Turned over to the
Spanish
Secretly passed back to
the French
• We intended to only buy the city of New Orleans
• Instead, Napoleon offered the 800,000 square
mile region of the Louisiana Territory for the low,
low price of only $15 million
Why did we want it?
•
•
US signed the “Treaty of
San Lorenzo” (with
Spain), which gave the
Americans right of
navigation and trade
along the entire
Mississippi River
Without ownership, the
US was always at the
mercy of the possessing
nation
– Why?
• Slave uprisings in other conquered regions (e.g. Haiti)
• War with England
• Out of money
• Doubled the size of the United States
Issues
• Could the President add territory to the nation
without the consent of Congress?
• Could people living in Louisiana be made
citizens without their consent?
• Would the US replace European laws with
American ones?
• What would happen to the Native Americans?
Reading Question
• What did Jefferson mean when he said,
“There is on the globe one single spot, the
possessor of which is our natural and
habitual enemy. It is New Orleans.” and how
does Jefferson’s statement help us to better
understand the growth of the United States
the role of the US in the world today?
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