1803 : THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE:
On April 30, 1803, representatives of the United States and Napoleonic
France conclude negotiations for the Louisiana Purchase, a massive
land sale that doubles the size of the young American republic. What
was known as Louisiana Territory comprised most of modern-day United
States between the Mississippi and the Rocky Mountains, with the
exceptions of Texas, parts of New Mexico, and other pockets of land
already controlled by the United States. A formal treaty for the
Louisiana Purchase, antedated to April 30, was signed two days later.
Beginning in the 17th century, France explored the Mississippi River
valley and established scattered settlements in the region. By the
middle of the 18th century, France controlled more of the modern
United States than any other European power: from New Orleans
northeast to the Great Lakes and northwest to modern-day Montana. In
1762, during the French and Indian War, France ceded its America
territory west of the Mississippi River to Spain and in 1763
transferred nearly all of its remaining North American holdings to
Great Britain. Spain, no longer a dominant European power, did little
to develop Louisiana Territory during the next three decades. In 1796,
Spain allied itself with France, leading Britain to use its powerful
navy to cut off Spain from America.
In 1801, Spain signed a secret treaty with France to return Louisiana
Territory to France. Reports of the retrocession caused considerable
uneasiness in the United States. Since the late 1780s, Americans had
been moving westward into the Ohio and Tennessee River valleys, and
these settlers were highly dependent on free access to the Mississippi
River and the strategic port of New Orleans. U.S. officials feared
that France, resurgent under the leadership of Napoleon Bonaparte,
would soon seek to dominate the Mississippi River and access to the
Gulf of Mexico. In a letter to Robert Livingston, the U.S. minister to
France, President Thomas Jefferson stated, "The day that France takes
possession of New Orleans...we must marry ourselves to the British
fleet and nation." Livingston was ordered to negotiate with French
minister Charles Maurice de Talleyrand for the purchase of New
Orleans.
France was slow in taking control of Louisiana, but in 1802 Spanish
authorities, apparently acting under French orders, revoked a
U.S.-Spanish treaty that granted Americans the right to store goods in
New Orleans. In response, President Jefferson sent future president
James Monroe to Paris to aid Livingston in the New Orleans purchase
talks. On April 11, 1803, the day before Monroe's arrival, Talleyrand
asked a surprised Livingston what the United States would give for all
of Louisiana Territory. It is believed that the failure of France to
put down a slave revolution in Haiti, the impending war with Great
Britain and probable Royal Navy blockade of France, and financial
difficulties may all have prompted Napoleon to offer Louisiana for
sale to the United States.
Negotiations moved swiftly, and at the end of April the U.S. envoys
agreed to pay $11,250,000 and assumed claims of its citizens against
France in the amount of $3,750,000. In exchange, the United States
acquired the vast domain of Louisiana Territory, some 828,000 square
miles of land. In October, Congress ratified the purchase, and in
December 1803 France formally transferred authority over the region to
the United States. The acquisition of the Louisiana Territory for the
bargain price of less than three cents an acre was Thomas Jefferson's
most notable achievement as president. American expansion westward
into the new lands began immediately, and in 1804 a territorial
government was established. On April 30, 1812, exactly nine years
after the Louisiana Purchase agreement was made, the first of 13
states to be carved from the territory--Louisiana--was admitted into
the Union as the 18th U.S. state.
history.com/tdih.do
1789 : The first presidential inauguration
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=4961
1939 : New York World's Fair opens
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=4962
#######################################
France conclude negotiations for the Louisiana Purchase, a massive
land sale that doubles the size of the young American republic. What
was known as Louisiana Territory comprised most of modern-day United
States between the Mississippi and the Rocky Mountains, with the
exceptions of Texas, parts of New Mexico, and other pockets of land
already controlled by the United States. A formal treaty for the
Louisiana Purchase, antedated to April 30, was signed two days later.
Beginning in the 17th century, France explored the Mississippi River
valley and established scattered settlements in the region. By the
middle of the 18th century, France controlled more of the modern
United States than any other European power: from New Orleans
northeast to the Great Lakes and northwest to modern-day Montana. In
1762, during the French and Indian War, France ceded its America
territory west of the Mississippi River to Spain and in 1763
transferred nearly all of its remaining North American holdings to
Great Britain. Spain, no longer a dominant European power, did little
to develop Louisiana Territory during the next three decades. In 1796,
Spain allied itself with France, leading Britain to use its powerful
navy to cut off Spain from America.
In 1801, Spain signed a secret treaty with France to return Louisiana
Territory to France. Reports of the retrocession caused considerable
uneasiness in the United States. Since the late 1780s, Americans had
been moving westward into the Ohio and Tennessee River valleys, and
these settlers were highly dependent on free access to the Mississippi
River and the strategic port of New Orleans. U.S. officials feared
that France, resurgent under the leadership of Napoleon Bonaparte,
would soon seek to dominate the Mississippi River and access to the
Gulf of Mexico. In a letter to Robert Livingston, the U.S. minister to
France, President Thomas Jefferson stated, "The day that France takes
possession of New Orleans...we must marry ourselves to the British
fleet and nation." Livingston was ordered to negotiate with French
minister Charles Maurice de Talleyrand for the purchase of New
Orleans.
France was slow in taking control of Louisiana, but in 1802 Spanish
authorities, apparently acting under French orders, revoked a
U.S.-Spanish treaty that granted Americans the right to store goods in
New Orleans. In response, President Jefferson sent future president
James Monroe to Paris to aid Livingston in the New Orleans purchase
talks. On April 11, 1803, the day before Monroe's arrival, Talleyrand
asked a surprised Livingston what the United States would give for all
of Louisiana Territory. It is believed that the failure of France to
put down a slave revolution in Haiti, the impending war with Great
Britain and probable Royal Navy blockade of France, and financial
difficulties may all have prompted Napoleon to offer Louisiana for
sale to the United States.
Negotiations moved swiftly, and at the end of April the U.S. envoys
agreed to pay $11,250,000 and assumed claims of its citizens against
France in the amount of $3,750,000. In exchange, the United States
acquired the vast domain of Louisiana Territory, some 828,000 square
miles of land. In October, Congress ratified the purchase, and in
December 1803 France formally transferred authority over the region to
the United States. The acquisition of the Louisiana Territory for the
bargain price of less than three cents an acre was Thomas Jefferson's
most notable achievement as president. American expansion westward
into the new lands began immediately, and in 1804 a territorial
government was established. On April 30, 1812, exactly nine years
after the Louisiana Purchase agreement was made, the first of 13
states to be carved from the territory--Louisiana--was admitted into
the Union as the 18th U.S. state.
history.com/tdih.do
1789 : The first presidential inauguration
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=4961
1939 : New York World's Fair opens
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=4962
#######################################
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