Why Is New Orleans So French? - CLJ - communityliteracy.org Jeffersons America & Napolons France (April 12-August 31), an unprecedented exhibition of paintings, sculptures, decorative arts, memorabilia and rare documents, presents a dazzling look at the arts and leading figures of the two countries at this pivotal time in history. This gave Jefferson and his cabinet until October, when the treaty had to be ratified, to discuss the constitutionality of the purchase. This secret deal did not remain secret for long. A manservant slumped to the floor in a faint. However, in 1800 Spain had ceded the Louisiana territory back to France as part of Napoleon's secret Third Treaty of San Ildefonso. Throughout the second half of the 18th century, the French colony of Louisiana became a pawn for European political intrigue. Napoleon Bonaparte sold the land because he needed money for the Great French War. 2), which is just what Jefferson did. The relatively narrow Louisiana of New Spain had been a special province under the jurisdiction of the Captaincy General of Cuba, while the vast region to the west was in 1803 still considered part of the Commandancy General of the Provincias Internas. What's more, as described by Medium, the French ruler believed that a more powerful United States was better for France. The Louisiana Territory was established, as described by Smithsonian Magazine, in 1682, when the French explorer Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, arrived at the mouth of the Mississippi River, put up a cross and column, and declared to a group of puzzled Native Americans that the entire river basin belonged to France. Even though Europeans had ostensibly laid claim to Louisiana for centuries, it remained largely undeveloped, with few wanting to move there. The Louisiana Purchase of 1803 brought into the United States about 828,000 square miles of territory from France, thereby doubling the size of the young republic. Learn more about Erin and her work at erinblakemore.com. Du Pont was living in the United States at the time and had close ties to Jefferson as well as the prominent politicians in France. Part of his evolving strategy involved giving du Pont some information that was withheld from Livingston. In a letter to U.S. minister to France Robert Livingston, President Thomas Jefferson stated, The day that France takes possession of New Orleanswe must marry ourselves to the British fleet and nation.. Napoleon needed peace with Britain to take possession of Louisiana. When word got around that Napoleon was giving up Louisiana to the Americans, not everybody agreed. He had contacts at Britains Baring & Co. Bank, which agreed, along with several other banks, to make the actual purchase and pay Napolon cash. Jefferson ultimately came to the conclusion before the ratification of the treaty that the purchase was to protect the citizens of the United States therefore making it constitutional. France was slow in taking control of Louisiana, but in 1802 Spanish authorities, apparently acting under French orders, revoked a U.S.-Spanish treaty that granted Americans the right to store. france - Why did the French sell Louisiana? - History Stack Exchange A slaves life in Haiti was usually short and miserable. Why did France sell the Louisiana Territory? He engaged in back-channel diplomacy with Napoleon on Jefferson's behalf during a visit to France and originated the idea of the much larger Louisiana Purchase as a way to defuse potential conflict between the United States and Napoleon over North America.[11]. However, France only controlled a small fraction of this area, most of which was inhabited by Native Americans; effectively, for the majority of the area, the United States bought the "preemptive" right to obtain "Indian" lands by treaty or by conquest, to the exclusion of other colonial powers.[1][2]. In 1718, French explorer Jean-Baptiste le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville, founded a settlement near the site of La Salles proclamation, and named it la Nouvelle Orlans for Philippe, Duke of Orlans and Regent of France. Nobody really knows what post-victory plans for New Orleans and Upper Louisiana were given by the British government to Major General Sir Edward Pakenham and his second-in-command Major General Samuel Gibbs because both generals were killed in action at the Battle of New Orleans. With Congress and a vociferous press calling for action, Jefferson faced the nations most serious crisis since the American Revolution. (Louisiana Shaping) Many people believed that he and others, including James Madison, were doing something they surely would have argued against with Alexander Hamilton. Spain, no longer a dominant European power, did little to develop Louisiana during the next three decades. Watch: Elon Musk Comes Clean on Why He Bought Twitter The Boston Columbian Centinel editorialized, We are to give money of which we have too little for land of which we already have too much. And Congressman Joseph Quincy of Massachusetts so opposed the deal that he favored secession by the Northeastern states, amicably if they can; violently if they must.. First, an empowered United States could effectively act as a formidable rival to Britain. In the end, Barings and Hopes acquired the $11.25 million in bonds for just $9.44 million. As detailed by the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Americans believed that the acquisition and settlement of new lands to the west were critical to the future development of the country. He added later, "I require money to make war on the richest nation in the world.". [59] In 1808 two military forts with trading factories were built, Fort Osage along the Missouri River in western present-day Missouri and Fort Madison along the Upper Mississippi River in eastern present-day Iowa. The favorable majority, however, easily prevailed and New England remained in the Union. Her work has appeared in outlets like The Washington Post, National Geographic, The Atlantic, TIME, Smithsonian and more. It is the Hudson, the Delaware, the Potomac, and all the navigable rivers of the Atlantic States, formed into one stream.. Aside from the strategic reasons, the United States was the best market to sell the Louisiana Territory. It was even subject to a speculative bubble which ruined fortunes. To France, it was a backwater sort of like owning Mediterranean Avenue in Monopoly. But the focal point of the celebrations is Louisiana itself. Peace is our passion, he declared, and expressed the concern that hotheaded members of the opposition Federalist Party might force us into war. He had already instructed Livingston in early 1802 to approach Napolons foreign minister, Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, to try to prevent the cession of the territory to France, if this had not already occurred, or, if the deal was done, to try to purchase New Orleans. Part or all of 15 states were eventually created from the land deal, which is considered one of the most important achievements of Thomas Jeffersons presidency. 3 Reply frenchchevalierblanc 5 yr. ago France had lost Louisiana in the 1760s to Spain. The British had re-entered the war and France was losing the Haitian Revolution and could not defend Louisiana. See chapter iii, "Treaty Ceding Louisiana to the United States" (1803 ff.). UNDERSTANDABLY, Pierre Clment de Laussat was saddened by this unexpected turn of events. Articles with the HISTORY.com Editors byline have been written or edited by the HISTORY.com editors, including Amanda Onion, Missy Sullivan and Matt Mullen. The territory's boundaries had not been defined in the 1762 Treaty of Fontainebleau that ceded it from France to Spain, nor in the 1801 Third Treaty of San Ildefonso ceding it back to France, nor the 1803 Louisiana Purchase agreement ceding it to the United States.[49]. Negotiations moved swiftly, and at the end of April the U.S. envoys agreed to pay $11,250,000 and assume claims of American citizens against France in the amount of $3,750,000. According to the Library of Congress, the Louisiana Territory was mainly ignored by the French government and remained unprofitable. When it came to profit and geopolitical importance, Napoleon was far more interested in the Caribbean. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. This would allow the Americans to retain clear access to the river. But Napolons mind was already made up. So while a slave rebellion helped drive the Louisiana Purchase, the new territory was destined to become a place of suffering and exploitation for the thousands of slaves forced to work there. [42] Barings had a close relationship with Hope & Co. of Amsterdam, and the two banking houses worked together to facilitate and underwrite the purchase. A group of Northern Federalists led by Senator Timothy Pickering of Massachusetts went so far as to explore the idea of a separate northern confederacy. Spain procrastinated until late 1802 in executing the treaty to transfer Louisiana to France, which allowed American hostility to build. The Louisiana Purchase (French: Vente de la Louisiane, lit. | READ MORE, 2023 Smithsonian Magazine And he saw the Mississippi River not as the western edge of the country, but as the great spine that would hold the continent together., As it was, frontiersmen, infuriated by the abrogation of the right of deposit of their goods, threatened to seize New Orleans by force. This must have been a wrenching moment for Jefferson, who had long been a Francophile. In response, Jefferson sent future U.S. president James Monroe to Paris to aid Livingston in the New Orleans purchase talks. We have tried to capture the suspense and fascination of a story whose outcome is known, yet was not foreordained, says Gail Feigenbaum, curator of the Jefferson-Napolon show on view in New Orleans April 12 to August 31, and to tell it through a rich variety of objects. The variety includes three important documents: a copy of the treaty, which bears Jeffersons signature; a document covering payment of claims by American citizens against France, signed by Napolon; and the official report of transfer of the Louisiana Territory signed by a bereaved prefect, Pierre de Laussat. So many slaves died of yellow feverand ill treatment that the entire slave population turned overevery 20 years, and slaves were held in subjugation through a strict caste system. Why did France give Louisiana to Spain? The Louisiana Purchase is considered one America's most important and prosperous investments. I renounce Louisiana, Napolon told him. Thomas Jefferson [27], Spain protested the transfer on two grounds: First, France had previously promised in a note not to alienate Louisiana to a third party and second, France had not fulfilled the Third Treaty of San Ildefonso by having the King of Etruria recognized by all European powers. It was the first and only time that a slave revolt had seen such success, and this epochal event in San-Domingue is linked with the Louisiana Purchase. Without sufficient revenues from sugar colonies in the Caribbean, Louisiana had little value to him. There was also concern that an increase in the number of slave-holding states created out of the new territory would exacerbate divisions between North and South. His soldiers died on the island and he knew he could not establish control there. Livingston and Monroe were only authorized to spend up to $10 million for the purchase of New Orleans and West Florida. All four started from the Mississippi River. Napoleon's brothers, Lucien and Joseph, objected, thinking it a black mark on France's reputation and glory. This was emphasized when in the memoir of Franois Barb-Marbois, Napoleon gave up his claim to the territory saying, "Irresolution and deliberation are no longer in season. The many court cases and tribal suits in the 1930s for historical damages flowing from the Louisiana Purchase led to the Indian Claims Commission Act (ICCA) in 1946. What was the most important effect of the Louisiana Purchase? The Real Reason France Sold The Louisiana Territory To The United States, National Museum of American History/Wikimedia Commons, National Archives and Records Administration/Wikimedia Commons. How did the French Own Louisiana? But he did manage to sell something that he didnt really have any control overthere were few French settlers and no French administration over the territoryexcept on paper. As for Jefferson, notes historian Cerami, he actually wasnt out to make this big a purchase. The acquisition of the area would increase the size of the country two-fold; it was one of the largest property proceedings in history, involving more land than today's France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Germany, Holland, Switzerland, and the British . [citation needed], During this period, south Louisiana received an influx of French-speaking refugee planters, who were permitted to bring their slaves with them, and other refugees fleeing the large slave revolt in Saint-Domingue. In order to finance his dreams of conquest, Napoleon needed money to finance his military operation, which had been growing in an arms race with Britain. [42] In the final agreement, the value of the U.S. currency was set at .mw-parser-output .sfrac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .sfrac.tion,.mw-parser-output .sfrac .tion{display:inline-block;vertical-align:-0.5em;font-size:85%;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .sfrac .num,.mw-parser-output .sfrac .den{display:block;line-height:1em;margin:0 0.1em}.mw-parser-output .sfrac .den{border-top:1px solid}.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px}5+3333/10000 francs per U.S. France retook it in 1800 when it more or less invaded Spain. The overwhelming stink of human waste. The risk of another power taking it from a weakened Spain made a "profound reconsideration" of this policy necessary. Who was president of the U.S. at the time of the Louisiana purchase? All or parts of 15 Western states would eventually be carved from its nearly 830,000 square miles, which stretched from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada, and from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains. As quoted by Smithsonian Magazine, historian Charles A. Cerami said, "If we had not made this purchase, it would have pinched off the possibility of our becoming a continental power." By the time Monroe arrived in Paris on April 12, the situation had, unknown to him, radically altered: Napolon had suddenly decided to sell the entire Louisiana Territory to the United States. You have come to a very corrupt world, Napolon told him frankly, adding roguishly that Talleyrand was the right man to explain what he meant by corruption. He took possession of the whole Mississippi River basin, he avowed, in the name of the most high, mighty, invincible and victorious Prince, Louis the Great, by Grace of God king of France and Navarre, 14th of that name. And it was in honor of Louis XIV that he named the land Louisiana. Saint-Domingue was a powder keg, ready to explode. Why did France want to sell the Louisiana Territory? All Rights Reserved. Hed planned to send troops to Louisiana to take over the colony, which he had received from the Spanish through a secrettreatyin 1800, in the hopes ofusingthe territory as a trade venue for the commodities produced in Haiti. Children in pens. Not all Americans agreed, however. But the resourceful Barb-Marbois had an answer for that too. . The French were fascinated by Americawhich they often symbolized in paintings and drawings as a befeathered Noble Savage standing beside an alligatorbut they could not decide whether it was a new Eden or, as the naturalist Georges-Louis Leclerc de Buffon declared, a primitive place fit only for degenerate life-forms. On the following day, October 21, 1803, the Senate authorized Jefferson to take possession of the territory and establish a temporary military government. In fact, Talleyrand was intruding on a deal that Napolon had assigned to the French finance minister, Franois de Barb-Marbois. He argued that the three-year term of the 1795 treaty that had granted America this right and free passage through Spanish territory on the Mississippi had expired. He had always seen Saint Domingue, with a population of more than 500,000, producing enough sugar, coffee, indigo, cotton and cocoa to fill some 700 ships a year, as Frances most important holding in the Western Hemisphere. [45] In 2021 dollars, the $15 million purchase price is equivalent to $336.92million. Albany, GA (31701) Today. When Thomas Jefferson purchased the Louisiana Territory from France, he altered the shape of a nation and the course of history. They burned cities, used guerrilla warfare and killed thousands. Brown University explains that Saint-Domingue created a tax revenue base of 1 billion livres and exported up to 170 million livres into France on an annual basis. The entire economy of Americas Western territories was in jeopardy. "[19] On July 4, 1803, the treaty was announced,[20] but the documents did not arrive in Washington, D.C. until July 14. By April 30, 1803, they hashed out an agreement where the Americans would pay $15 million, a considerable reduction, although its constitutionality was debated. Both present-day Arkansas and Missouri already had some slaveholders in the 18th and early 19th century. The split-screen messaging of Ohio's . Plans were also set forth for several missions to explore and chart the territory, the most famous being the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The Library of Congress explains how President Thomas Jefferson realized the precariousness of having France as a neighbor. Gentlemen, he announced, think what you please about it. By doubling the size of the U.S., the purchase added vast swaths of territory that, pro-slavery advocates argued, should be filled with slaves. A Washington newspaper, the National Intelligencer, reflecting how most citizens felt, referred to the widespread joy of millions at an event which history will record among the most splendid in our annals. Though we have no historical evidence of how Jefferson felt about the purchase, notes Cerami, reports from those in his circle like Monroe refer to the presidents great pleasure, despite his fear that the deal had gone beyond his constitutional powers. On April 11, 1803, just days before Monroe's arrival, Barb-Marbois offered Livingston all of Louisiana for $15million,[13] which averages to less than three cents per acre (7/ha). The Louisiana Purchase opened up a new can of worms in the United Stateshow much of the new territory should be open to slavery? In 1802 Bonaparte forced Spain to return Louisiana to France in the secret Treaty of San Ildefonso. With the failure to retake Saint-Domingue and the inevitability of renewed war between France and Britain, Napoleon refigured his political calculus. Pinckney's Treaty, signed with Spain on October 27, 1795, gave American merchants "right of deposit" in New Orleans, granting them use of the port to store goods for export. Many members of the House of Representatives opposed the purchase. High around 75F. The Northerners were not enthusiastic about Western farmers gaining another outlet for their crops that did not require the use of New England ports. Everybody who has taken grade-school history knows the story. Louisiana Purchase - Wikipedia Or, as Jefferson put it in his usual understated way, The fertility of thecountry, its climate and extent, promise in due season importantaids to our treasury, an ample provision for our posterity, and a wide-spread field for the blessings of freedom., American historians today are more outspoken in their enthusiasm for the acquisition. The enlightened government of France saw, with just discernment, he told Congress, with typical tact, on October 17, 1803, the importance to both nations of such liberal arrangements as might best and permanently promote the peace, friendship, and interests of both. But, excited by the commercial opportunities in the West, Jefferson, even before official notice of the treaty reached him, had already dispatched Meriwether Lewis to lead an expedition to explore the territory and the lands beyond. 20 Why did France no longer need Louisiana quizlet? He had a vision of America as an empire of liberty, says Douglas Brinkley. For more than a century after La Salle took possession of it, the Louisiana Territory, with its scattered French, Spanish, Acadian and German settlements, along with those of Native Americans and American-born frontiersmen, was traded among European royalty at their whim. Its believed that the failure of France to put down a slave revolution in Haiti, the impending war with Great Britain and probable British naval blockade of France combined with French economic difficulties may have prompted Napoleon to offer Louisiana for sale to the United States. As Jefferson had written in April 1802 to the U.S. minister in Paris, Robert R. Livingston, it was crucial that the port of New Orleans remain open and free for American commerce, particularly the goods coming down the Mississippi River. As told by Michigan State University, both of them were shocked when the French minister, Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand, asked how much they would pay for the entire territory. . To Napoleon's line of thinking, if the United States took control of Louisiana, then it would deny Britain the opportunity of conquering it. The Louisiana Purchasewas one of historys greatest bargains, a chance for the United States to buy what promised to be one of Frances largest and wealthiest territories and eliminate a European threat in the process. In 1796, Spain allied itself with France, leading Britain to use its powerful navy to cut off Spain from America. [32] The Senate quickly ratified the treaty, and the House, with equal readiness, authorized the required funding, as the Constitution specifies. But the official view was summed up by Antoine de La Mothe Cadillac, whom Louis XIV named governor of the territory in 1710: The people are aheap of the dregs of Canada, he sniffed in a 42-page report to the king written soon after he arrived. The History of the Louisiana Purchase - ThoughtCo But in early 1803, continuing war between France and Britain seemed unavoidable. The exhibition points up how intertwined the two nations were at the time. [4] The colony was the most substantial presence of France's overseas empire, with other possessions consisting of a few small settlements along the Mississippi and other main rivers. Monroe, along with the minister to France, Robert Livingston, made the inquiry. In 1763, Louis XV gave Louisiana to his cousin, Charles III of Spain. For another, Britain had unofficially offered Joseph a bribe of 100,000 to persuade Napolon not to let the Americans have Louisiana. i. France was promised control over Canada. Why Did france sell the land Money for War France was currently engaged in a war with Britain. The Louisiana Purchase, made 200 years ago this month, nearly doubled the size of the United States. [55], Because the western boundary was contested at the time of the purchase, President Jefferson immediately began to organize four missions to explore and map the new territory. [48], A dispute soon arose between Spain and the United States regarding the extent of Louisiana. Why France Sold the Louisiana Purchase to the US From March 10 to September 30, 1804, Upper Louisiana was supervised as a military district, under its first civil commandant, Amos Stoddard, who was appointed by the War Department. As for the ever-succinct Thomas Jefferson, he wasted little time on rhetoric. "[29] The sale of course was not "worthless"the U.S. actually did take possession. By the sale, Napolon hoped to create a huge country in the Western Hemisphere to serve as a counterweight to Britain and maybe make trouble for it., On April 11, when Livingston called on Talleyrand for what he thought was yet another futile attempt to deal, the foreign minister, after the de rigueur small talk, suddenly asked whether the United States would perchance wish to buy the whole of the Louisiana Territory. Why did France leave Louisiana? France was in shock, and Napoleon began to realize that his dream of a French empire in the Americas might be doomed. Why did France sell Louisiana : to finance the conquests. [53][54], The eastern boundary of the Louisiana purchase was the Mississippi River, from its source to the 31st parallel, though the source of the Mississippi was, at the time, unknown. However, France's failure to suppress a revolt in Saint-Domingue, coupled with the prospect of renewed warfare with the United Kingdom, prompted Napoleon to consider selling Louisiana to the United States. [37][38], Effective October 1, 1804, the purchased territory was organized into the Territory of Orleans (most of which would become the state of Louisiana) and the District of Louisiana, which was temporarily under control of the governor and judicial system of the Indiana Territory. [42] In October 1803, the U.S. Treasury had some $5.86 million in specie on hand, $2 million of which would be used to pay a portion of the debts assumed from France as part of the purchase. Cantonment Belle Fontaine 8051826 The First U.S. Fort West of the Mississippi River. Why did . He also realized that with Britain's superior naval power, it would be relatively easy for them to take Louisiana at will. Alain Chappet, Roger Martin, Alain Pigeard. The French ruler was just about to embark on a series of devastating wars. iii. They also feared that this would lead to Western states being formed, which would likely be Republican, and dilute the political power of New England Federalists. ii. Francis Baring's son Alexander and Pierre Labouchre from Hopes arrived in Paris in April 1803 to assist with the negotiations. WATCH: Full episodes of The American Presidency with Bill Clinton online now. In 1800, Napoleon, the First Consul of the French Republic, regained ownership of Louisiana as part of a broader effort to re-establish a French colonial empire in North America. And in 1801, Spain signed a secret treaty with France to return the Louisiana Territory to France. . Why did France sell the Louisiana Purchase to the United States As slaves killed their masters and occupied and burned their plantations, white people defended themselves, then fled. [50] Spain insisted that Louisiana comprised no more than the western bank of the Mississippi River and the cities of New Orleans and St. The press joined the fray. The main issue for the Americans was free transit of the Mississippi out to sea. The British would have likely garrisoned New Orleans and would have occupied it for a very long time because they and their ally Spain did not recognize any treaties and land deals conducted by Napoleon since 1800, especially the Louisiana Purchase. Advertisement Advertisement mira11111 mira11111 Answer: he needed money for the French War. France was slow in taking control of Louisiana, but in 1802 Spanish authorities, apparently acting under French orders, revoked a U.S.-Spanish treaty that granted Americans the right to store goods in New Orleans. United States and France conclude the Louisiana Purchase In January 1802, France sent General Charles Leclerc on an expedition to Saint-Domingue to reassert French control over a colony that had become essentially autonomous under Louverture. [23], After Monroe and Livingston had returned from France with news of the purchase, an official announcement of the purchase was made on July 4, 1803. (There is also a portrait of the marquis himself and a 1784 painting by French artist Jean Suau, Allegory of France Liberating America.) The four decades following the Louisiana Purchase was an era of court decisions removing many tribes from their lands east of the Mississippi for resettlement in the new territory, culminating in the Trail of Tears. If the deal was allowed to stand, he declared, it would be impossible that France and the United States can continue long as friends. Relations had been relaxed with Spain while it held New Orleans, but Jefferson suspected that Napolon wanted to close the Mississippi to American use. He was compelled to do so primarily because France urgently needed funds for an imminent war with Britain. Although the purchase was undeniably a bargain, the price was still more than the young U.S. treasury could afford.
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why did france sell louisiana