Todd Campbell, age 14, of Columbia, Tenn., for his question:
HOW MUCH WAS PAID FOR THE LOUISANA PURCHASE?
A vast area that stretched from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and extended from the Gulf of Mexico to the Canadian border was purchased by the United States from France for about $15 million in 1803. The transaction was called the Louisana Purchase.
Involved in the deal was 827,987 square miles of land. Eventually all or parts of 15 states were formed out of the region.
When Thomas Jefferson became President in 1801, the Mississippi River formed the western boundary of the United States. Farmers who lived west of the Appalachian Mountains shipped all their produce by boat down rivers that flowed into the gulf of Mexico. Involved in this shipping arrangement was Spain, and Spain planned to give part of its American colonies to France.
Jefferson feared that an ambitious nation such as France might interfere with the trade of the western territories. Word was sent to the French government that the United States was not willing to see the American colonies of Spain transferred to any country except the U.S.
Limited space here makes it impossible to recount all of the events that built to a climax when the port of New Orleans was closed to American traders. Diplomatic disucssions continued as all of the participants attempted to resolve the problems without war.
Napoleon knew that war with Great Britain would soon break out and he feared an Anglo American alliance. There were reports that the United States was sending 50,000 troops to take New Orleans by force.
On April 10, 1803, Napoleon said he would sell all Louisiana Territory to the U.S. A treaty was signed on May 2 and was ratified by Congress on October 25.
The Constitution did not authorize the acquisition of land, but it did provide for the making of treaties. Jefferson admitted he had "stretched the Constitution until it cracked."
President Jefferson believed Americans would inhabit any states formed in the course of expansion. And he also felt that the acquistion of new territory was constitutional.
He later said that he thought of himself as a guardian who made an investment of funds entrusted to his care. Here's part of what Jefferson said in his message to Congress:
"Whilst the property and sovereignty of the Mississippi and its waters secure an independent outlet for the produce of the Western Sates and an uncontrolled navigation through their whole course ...the fertility of the country, its climate and extent, promise in due season important aids to our Treasury, an ample provision for our prosperity and a wide spread for the blessings of freedom and equal laws."
Congress passed laws to provide for borrowing the necessary money from English and Dutch bankers, payable in 15 years. The United States took possession of the territory on December 20, 1803.
Some boundary disputes arose but they were resolved in 1818.
In a treaty of 1819 with Spain, the United States purchased Florida and surrendered its claim to Texas. Spain in return gave up its claim to West Florida.