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Louisiana Purchase
• 1800 – Napoleon got region of Louisiana from Spain (secret) • US couldn’t go down Miss. River anymore –hurt trade • People want to attack New Orleans – lead to war with
France and Spain • TJ needs allies to defeat Napoleon but wanted no
alliances • 1803 – sent Monroe to Paris
• Instructions: Buy New Orleans and as much land as possible for $10 mil
• If it failed – US would ally with GB • Napoleon sells and abandons dream of New World
empire • Wants to get rid of it all – sold for $15 mil • Had 1000s of Indians, French, Spanish, blacks
Louisiana Purchase
• Why did Napoleon sell? 1. Haitian Revolution led by Touissant L’Ouverture – Napoleon didn’t get Santo Domingo 2. Didn’t want an Anglo-American alliance – sold land and use $ for his schemes – hopes one day US will take down GB
• Constitution didn’t authorize the President to negotiate treaties such as this • Jefferson wants to create an amendment but there isn’t
time – Napoleon could withdraw offer • Sent to the Senate for approval – Senate did!! • This was unconstitutional (loose interpretation)
Haitian Rebellion (1791) • Toussaint L’Ouverture led ex-
slaves in a bloody revolt • Malaria/yellow fever • Thwarted Napoleon’s
desire for a North American empire
The Louisiana Purchase, 1803
Significance: Most important land purchase in U.S. History
1. Doubled size of U.S. w/ richest river valley in the world
2. Guaranteed Mississippi waterway to Gulf of Mexico
3. Paved the way for westward expansion and tragic removal of Indians
4. Effectively ended European expansion in North America
-- can disengage from Europe
Exploration
• 1804 – Meriwether Lewis (TJ’s personal secretary) and William Clark (young army officer) sent to explore Northern part of new territory • Aided by Shoshoni woman, Sacajawea – ascended
Missouri R. from St. Louis, struggled through Rockies, descended Columbia R. to Pacific coast
• 2 ½ years of observations, maps, knowledge of Indians, wilderness stories
• Result: many others go west • Zebulon Pike explored southern part
• Pike’s Peak in Colorado
The Louisiana Purchase, 1803
Aaron Burr Conspiracies
• Dropped from cabinet in TJ’s second term – joined with a group of Federalist extremists to plot secession of NE and NY • Hamilton foiled plot – Burr challenges him to a duel • Hamilton refused to fire & was killed with one shot
• Burr joins western plot to separate and then invade Mexico and Florida • General James Wilkinson is military governor of Louisiana
Territory • Burr and 60 others went down Miss.R. to meet Wilkinson • TJ got wind of plot and Wilkinson fled to New Orleans • Burr arrested and tried for treason • Chief Justice Marshall said there was no proof of treasonous acts
– he was acquitted • Fled to Europe – urged Napoleon to ally with GB and jointly
invade US
-- Burr-Hamilton duel
Burr fires his fatal shot at Hamilton
Burr Conspiracy: 1806 plot for western secession
-- James Wilkinson
British Attacks
• France renews fight with Britain • Battle of Trafalgar – Napoleon defeated
• What does this mean for GB – supremacy of the seas • Orders in Council – GB closes French ports to
foreign shipping due to Napoleon’s actions • Can go through only if they stop at British ports 1st • Hurt American trade • Napoleon’s Reaction – began seizing US ships bound
to GB • British still impressing our sailors (6,000) • GB’s Leopard attacks U.S. Chesapeake off coast of VA • Americans want revenge
British impressment of U.S. sailors
About 6,000 Americans were
impressed by the British between 1808
and 1811. Many were killed in service.
Chesapeake-Leopard Affair, 1807
The U.S.S. Chesapeake was attacked on June
21, 1807, resulting in three U.S. sailors dead
and eighteen wounded.
Embargo
• War is NOT an option – still too weak • Only option: cut off exports • 1807: Embargo Act – forbade the export of all
goods from the U.S. on American or foreign ships • Jefferson’s “peaceful coercion” • If successful – would show it is okay to be neutral • If failed – submit to Europe, sucked into war
• We began to suffer 1st – more of a war against ourselves
Embargo
• Effects: • Illegal trading • Did force us to focus on ourselves = factories built • Federalist party revived – NE talks of secession • Congress repeals embargo in 1809 – 3 days before TJ’s
retirement • Non-Intercourse Act – reopened trade with all
EXCEPT GB and France
• Why did it fail? We overestimated European dependence on US trade L. American opened up trade to Europe Napoleon dominated Europe – didn’t need us Miscalculated how it would hurt the U.S. Hard to enforce – leaky embargo
Jefferson’s Legacy
• Expansion became primary goal
• Destruction of Federalists by 1816
• Creation of non-aristocratic government
• Kept U.S. out of war
• TJ and Adams died on same day – July 4, 1826 • Adams’ last words: “TJ still survives” – but
he was wrong – died 3 hours prior