Westward Expansion: The Louisiana Purchase - Essay Example

The chief diplomat handling the Louisiana situation in Paris was given the go-ahead to negotiate a purchase deal with the French, somewhere between two and ten million dollars. To everyone’s surprise, Napoleon agreed to this deal but demanded a lot more. He wanted to continue his expansionary aims and for that he needed money, therefore, he offered the American government the whole territory of Louisiana for fifteen million dollars. Jefferson agreed to this and the deal was finalized in April 1803. Although Jefferson considered it to be a great diplomatic and political achievement, the deal was met with a lot of controversies. (Westward Expansion: The Louisiana Purchase, n. d.)

            By signing a deal with Napoleon, Jefferson was forced to ignore the limitations that were set by the Constitution. This deal was a defiance of the principles set up in the Constitution, and he also could not wait for a constitutional amendment, as that would have resulted in the failure of the deal. Although it was not a very wise political move, the President still managed to gain the support of the masses. America also did not have enough money to make the full payment; therefore, it was forced to take loans from the British government at six percent interest. Some people saw this purchase as a decrease in the political power of the United States. Also, the act of undermining the constitution to some extent set an example for future presidents, to stretch the constitution a little further, without making amendments to it. This was a poor example set by President Jefferson (Kelly, n. d.).

            The purchase of the Louisiana territory did add a considerable amount of land to America; it was met by various views. Some politicians thought that this act proved that Congress could defy the constitution if the majority of people in Congress voted for the decision to be passed. This act was criticized by the more conservative politicians and they declared that the Constitution can just not be ignored in such situations. Also, they declared that it lead to the disturbance of power between the North and South. Another harmful consequence of this act was that many people began to rise in the area of Mississippi, and tried to take the land under their control. Furthermore, the leaders of New England felt threatened by this move, because they thought that their power and authority were damaged by the purchase of Louisiana. (Davis, n. d.)