Okla-homey
4/30/2007, 06:08 AM
a nation doubles its size by writing a check, not by military conquest.
April 4, 1803 U.S. buys 828,000 square miles for $18M
204 years go today, at the dawn of the nineteenth century, the United States government wheeled and dealed its way into what is generally regarded as the "greatest land bargain" in the nation's history, the Louisiana Purchase.
http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/574/tttttttttttttttvc216gt4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Tom Jefferson. He wrote the Declaration of Independence, but more importantly, bought Oklahoma from France.
The deal, which was dated April 30, 1803, though it was in fact signed on May 2, had been in the works since the spring of 1802. It was then that President Thomas Jefferson had learned of Spain's decision to quietly transfer Spanish Louisiana to the French; fearful of the strategic and commercial implications of the Spanish swap, Jefferson ordered Robert Livingston, the U.S. minister in Paris, to broker a deal with the French either for a slice of land on the lower Mississippi or a "guarantee" of unmolested transport for U.S. ships.
Negotiations dragged on for months, but took a crucial turn when Spanish and U.S. trade relations collapsed in the fall of 1802. With Spain now barring American merchant ships from transferring goods at the port in New Orleans, Jefferson set his sights on purchasing a far larger chunk of land.
http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/7329/tttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt21754600cq2.jpg
The territory includes Oklahoma which the French called Nouveau Mexique
Realizing that it was essential that the U.S. at least maintain control of the mouth of the all-important Mississippi River. Please understand, all these guys initially wanted to do was buy NOLA and the Florida Panhandle...little did they know they would end up acquiring the rights to much more.
http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/3338/ttttttttttttt2004nckelrevap1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
In early 1803, James Monroe and Robert Livingston headed to Paris to broker Jefferson's deal. By that spring, the European situation had changed radically. Napoleon, who had previously envisioned creating a mighty new French empire in America, was now facing war with Great Britain and he needed bucks to fund the fight.
With France teetering on the brink of war with Great Britain, and mindful not only of the fiscal repercussions of such a conflict, but of the possibility of a renewed U.S.-English alliance, Napoleon's negotiators acceded to a deal to sell the whole of Louisiana.
http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/1410/tttttttttttttttttttttttttttttlivingstonbook3fd4.jp g (http://imageshack.us)
Robert Livingston did most of the talking, because at the time, Monroe was plagued by severe back pain...it may have been a kidney stone.
All told, the Louisiana Purchase cost the U.S. $15 million: $11.25 million was earmarked for the land deal, while the remaining $3.75 million covered France's outstanding debts to America.
http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/7810/tttttttttttttttttttttttttttttlouisianapurchaselq1. jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Monroe, Livingston and Napolean's boy Talleyrand negotiate the deal
Thus, for the prime price of 3 cents an acre, the United States bought 828,000-square miles of land, which effectively doubled the size of the young nation.
http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/829/tttttttttttttttttttttttttttttlouisianapurchaselast oi1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Signature page of the treaty sent to the Senate for ratification. Note Monroe and Livingstone's signatures on the left side of the page (the French guy's sig. is on the right.) Also note, the red wax "seals" under the sigs. You've seen this in the movies. The signer poured a bit of hot "sealing wax" under his signature, then mashed his signet ring into the warm puddle of wax, thus "sealing it" to help lend veracity to the notion the signature was genuine. Thus, the phrase, "signed, sealed and delivered" when talking about an executed contract.
Despite his misgivings about the constitutionality of the purchase (the Constitution made no provision for the addition of vast territory by treaty), Jefferson finally agreed to send the treaty to the U.S. Senate for ratification, noting privately, "The less we say about constitutional difficulties the better."
http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/7164/tttttttttttttttttttttttlpmapbigyl5.gif (http://imageshack.us)
http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/903/insane7zosw1.jpg
April 4, 1803 U.S. buys 828,000 square miles for $18M
204 years go today, at the dawn of the nineteenth century, the United States government wheeled and dealed its way into what is generally regarded as the "greatest land bargain" in the nation's history, the Louisiana Purchase.
http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/574/tttttttttttttttvc216gt4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Tom Jefferson. He wrote the Declaration of Independence, but more importantly, bought Oklahoma from France.
The deal, which was dated April 30, 1803, though it was in fact signed on May 2, had been in the works since the spring of 1802. It was then that President Thomas Jefferson had learned of Spain's decision to quietly transfer Spanish Louisiana to the French; fearful of the strategic and commercial implications of the Spanish swap, Jefferson ordered Robert Livingston, the U.S. minister in Paris, to broker a deal with the French either for a slice of land on the lower Mississippi or a "guarantee" of unmolested transport for U.S. ships.
Negotiations dragged on for months, but took a crucial turn when Spanish and U.S. trade relations collapsed in the fall of 1802. With Spain now barring American merchant ships from transferring goods at the port in New Orleans, Jefferson set his sights on purchasing a far larger chunk of land.
http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/7329/tttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt21754600cq2.jpg
The territory includes Oklahoma which the French called Nouveau Mexique
Realizing that it was essential that the U.S. at least maintain control of the mouth of the all-important Mississippi River. Please understand, all these guys initially wanted to do was buy NOLA and the Florida Panhandle...little did they know they would end up acquiring the rights to much more.
http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/3338/ttttttttttttt2004nckelrevap1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
In early 1803, James Monroe and Robert Livingston headed to Paris to broker Jefferson's deal. By that spring, the European situation had changed radically. Napoleon, who had previously envisioned creating a mighty new French empire in America, was now facing war with Great Britain and he needed bucks to fund the fight.
With France teetering on the brink of war with Great Britain, and mindful not only of the fiscal repercussions of such a conflict, but of the possibility of a renewed U.S.-English alliance, Napoleon's negotiators acceded to a deal to sell the whole of Louisiana.
http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/1410/tttttttttttttttttttttttttttttlivingstonbook3fd4.jp g (http://imageshack.us)
Robert Livingston did most of the talking, because at the time, Monroe was plagued by severe back pain...it may have been a kidney stone.
All told, the Louisiana Purchase cost the U.S. $15 million: $11.25 million was earmarked for the land deal, while the remaining $3.75 million covered France's outstanding debts to America.
http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/7810/tttttttttttttttttttttttttttttlouisianapurchaselq1. jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Monroe, Livingston and Napolean's boy Talleyrand negotiate the deal
Thus, for the prime price of 3 cents an acre, the United States bought 828,000-square miles of land, which effectively doubled the size of the young nation.
http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/829/tttttttttttttttttttttttttttttlouisianapurchaselast oi1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Signature page of the treaty sent to the Senate for ratification. Note Monroe and Livingstone's signatures on the left side of the page (the French guy's sig. is on the right.) Also note, the red wax "seals" under the sigs. You've seen this in the movies. The signer poured a bit of hot "sealing wax" under his signature, then mashed his signet ring into the warm puddle of wax, thus "sealing it" to help lend veracity to the notion the signature was genuine. Thus, the phrase, "signed, sealed and delivered" when talking about an executed contract.
Despite his misgivings about the constitutionality of the purchase (the Constitution made no provision for the addition of vast territory by treaty), Jefferson finally agreed to send the treaty to the U.S. Senate for ratification, noting privately, "The less we say about constitutional difficulties the better."
http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/7164/tttttttttttttttttttttttlpmapbigyl5.gif (http://imageshack.us)
http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/903/insane7zosw1.jpg