The Louisiana Purchase

Napoleon Bonaparte  had a problem: he needed money to finance his war against Britain.   He decided to sell the Louisiana Territory to make money.   A French official told U.S. representatives Robert Livingston and James Monroe that the entire Louisiana Territory was for sale. Livingston and Monroe were shocked by such an offer. They were not sure if they could accept this land deal.  

This deal was a hard one to not pay attention to.   Thomas Jefferson knew that the new territory would provide plenty of cheap land for farmers for future generations. It would also give the United States control of the Mississippi River, which would protect domestic shipping interests. These benefits convinced Livingston and Monroe to close the deal, even though they did not have authorization to buy the whole territory. After a few days of negotiation, the parties agreed on a price of $15 million.

Jefferson was concerned  that such a large purchase might not be legal. The Constitution said nothing about acquiring new territory. He always worried that the constitution  gave too much power the the national government and not enough power to the states.  By what authority could he and the federal government buy the land?  Jefferson decided the government's treaty-making powers allowed the purchase of the new territory. The Senate approved the purchase in October 1803. The purchase of the Louisiana Territory doubled the size of the United States.