<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > you can only sit back and relax if you buy it</h1>
Since 1762, louisiana has been a Spanish colony in North America. Because the Mississippi River in the region is an important transportation channel for American agricultural products, in 1795, the United States signed the Treaty of Pinckney with Spain, which confirmed the United States' shipping rights on the Mississippi River and free access to the port of New Orleans.
In 1800, Spain signed a secret treaty with France, transferring the Louisiana region to France in exchange for French support for Spain in Europe.
The United States was very worried when it learned of the contents of the treaty, especially thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States who had just taken office. Not only was he worried about losing access to New Orleans, but he also thought Napoleon might use the opportunity to expand French influence in North America.
So he sent envoys to Paris twice in succession to negotiate the purchase of New Orleans. However, Napoleon did not want to sell the area to the United States at that time, so the negotiations did not go well.
It was not until 1803 that Jefferson sent the exiled French aristocrat Pierre Samuel Dupont (the first generation of the famous Dupont family in the United States) to France to participate in negotiations, and he had a rich political network in France.
At this time, Napoleon's military operations in Santo Domingo (present-day Haiti) had been unsuccessful, the military strength in North America was insufficient, and conflict with Britain was inevitable, and DuPont's idea of selling the entire Louisiana region through unofficial channels was extremely tempting to him.
Napoleon eventually decided to take back French power in North America, concentrate on Dealing with Britain, and sell Louisiana to the United States for $15 million (68 million francs).
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > such a good thing that it was opposed? </h1>
Jefferson was overjoyed to learn that Napoleon was going to sell the entire Louisiana region to the United States. Because then the United States will not only double its territory in an instant: south of Mexico, north of Canada, east of the Mississippi River, west of the Rocky Mountains, but also the Mississippi River, the lifeblood of inland shipping, and land prices below three cents per acre.
He decided to sign a treaty with France immediately in case Napoleon changed his mind. When the land purchase was announced in the United States, it was opposed by some people, because $15 million was a huge number for the United States at that time, and they believed that good relations with Britain were more important than Napoleon. But in the end, the Senate also passed the proposal by a vote of 24 to 7.
The United States paid the purchase of land to France by borrowing money from European banks, and this debt was not paid off until 1823. With interest and principal, the United States paid a total of $23 million for the purchase of the Louisiana area (about a quarter of what is now U.S. territory).
On December 20, 1803, France handed over New Orleans to the United States, and on March 10, 1804, France held a formal ceremony in St. Louis to transfer sovereignty over the entire Louisiana region to the United States.
Since then, the U.S. government has divided 15 states from the Louisiana area, and the attitude of these states to slavery directly led to the American Civil War (Civil War) half a century later.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > the greatest achievement of Jefferson's tenure</h1>
The Louisiana land purchase was a bargain for the United States, the greatest achievement of President Thomas Jefferson's presidency, who excitedly said:
"It's bigger than the whole of the United States, almost 500 million acres, compared to 4.34 acres in the United States."
He also called the land purchase "an abundance of reserves and a multifaceted blessing of freedom to our descendants." ”
This successful land purchase doubled the confidence of the United States and thus opened the expansion mode. After the failure of the province of Canada, which intended to annex the British colony, the United States set its sights on Spain.
The Louisiana land purchase led to a dispute between the United States and Spain over the border, and Florida in Spanish hands established a new U.S. target. In 1818, Andrew Jackson sent troops to Florida, and the following year occupied Pensacola, capturing Florida from Spain.
After that, the United States used various means to continue to expand, and the next target was: Mexico.