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 As the first blog entry got exhausted. My second book |
| Evolution of Love Part 2 |
| They went to buy a city. France offered them half a continent. They didn't have authority to accept. They signed anyway—and bought 828,000 square miles for three cents an acre. Paris, 1803. President Thomas Jefferson has a problem. American farmers and merchants depend on the port of New Orleans to ship their goods down the Mississippi River and out to the world. But France owns New Orleans. And France could cut off American access at any time. Jefferson decides to solve this problem the American way: with money. He sends James Monroe and Robert Livingston to Paris with instructions to buy New Orleans from France. He authorizes them to offer up to $10 million. Ten million dollars for one city. It's a lot of money in 1803. But New Orleans is worth it. Control of that port is essential to American commerce. Monroe and Livingston arrive in Paris ready to negotiate. And then France makes an offer they never expected. Napoleon Bonaparte has concluded that France's massive North American territory is more trouble than it's worth. He's been fighting expensive wars in Europe. He needs money. And he's realized that holding onto territory across the Atlantic—territory the British might seize in war—is impractical. So when the American commissioners arrive expecting to negotiate for New Orleans, French foreign minister Talleyrand asks them a question: What would you give for the whole thing? Monroe and Livingston are stunned. The whole thing? The entire Louisiana Territory? Not just New Orleans but everything from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains? From the Gulf of Mexico to Canada? 828,000 square miles of land. Roughly doubling the size of the United States. They don't have authority to negotiate such a deal. Jefferson sent them to buy a city, not half a continent. But the offer is extraordinary. France wants $15 million for the entire Louisiana Territory. That's only $5 million more than Monroe and Livingston are authorized to pay for just New Orleans. Do the math: $15 million for 828,000 square miles equals roughly three cents per acre. In today's money, that's about sixty cents per acre. For land that includes present-day Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Minnesota west of the Mississippi, and parts of Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas. It's the greatest real estate deal in history. But there's a problem. Monroe and Livingston don't have authority to make this deal. They look at each other. They look at the French offer. They think about sending word back to Jefferson and waiting months for approval while France potentially changes its mind. And they decide: we're doing this. On April 30, 1803, they sign the Louisiana Purchase Treaty. "This is the noblest work of our whole lives," Livingston remarks as they sign. He's right. But now they have to convince Jefferson and Congress. When Monroe and Livingston return to the United States with the treaty, Jefferson is simultaneously amazed and troubled. Amazed because this is an incredible opportunity. The Louisiana Territory will transform the United States from a coastal nation into a continental power. Troubled because the Constitution doesn't explicitly give the President authority to purchase territory. Jefferson is a strict constructionist—he believes the federal government should only exercise powers explicitly granted by the Constitution. And nowhere in the Constitution does it say the President can buy 828,000 square miles of land from France. Jefferson considers proposing a Constitutional amendment to authorize the purchase. But that would take time. And France might change its mind. So Jefferson does what pragmatic politicians do: he sets aside his principles and embraces the deal. The treaty goes to the Senate for ratification. The debate is intense. Opponents raise serious objections: Where's the constitutional authority? The United States doesn't have $15 million—we'll have to borrow it from British financiers. Do we really want to borrow money from Britain to buy land from France? What about the people already living in Louisiana Territory—can we just make them American citizens without their consent? Is doubling the size of the country really a good idea? These aren't frivolous concerns. The constitutional question is genuine. The financial burden is real. The incorporation of new territories raises complex legal and political issues. But the opportunity is too good to pass up. On October 20, 1803—222 years ago today—the Senate votes to ratify the Louisiana Purchase Treaty. The deal is done. The United States borrows $15 million from British banks (the irony of borrowing from Britain to expand westward is not lost on anyone). The money goes to France. Napoleon uses it to fund his European wars. And the United States doubles in size overnight. "From this day the United States take their place among the powers of the first rank," Livingston says. Again, he's right. The Louisiana Purchase transforms American history. It provides land for westward expansion. It secures control of the Mississippi River system. It establishes the United States as a continental nation. It also sets a precedent: the federal government can expand territorial boundaries through purchase, even without explicit constitutional authority. (This precedent later justifies other territorial acquisitions, including Alaska.) Think about what Monroe and Livingston did. They exceeded their authority. They made a decision that technically they had no right to make. They committed the United States to a massive financial obligation and constitutional controversy. And they were absolutely, completely right to do it. Sometimes the boldest decisions are made by people who have the courage to exceed their instructions when opportunity demands it. Jefferson sent them to buy New Orleans for up to $10 million. They bought 828,000 square miles for $15 million. Three cents per acre. Sixty cents per acre in today's money. For land that became thirteen states. For territory that made the United States a continental power. For a deal that shaped American history. Not bad for two diplomats who didn't have authority to sign. Monroe and Livingston gambled that when they brought home half a continent for essentially the same price as one city, Jefferson and Congress would approve. They were right. The Louisiana Purchase stands as one of the best real estate bargains in history. And one of the most consequential decisions made by people who technically weren't authorized to make it. On April 30, 1803, two American commissioners exceeded their instructions and signed a treaty that doubled the size of the United States. On October 20, 1803, the Senate gave them permission—retroactively. Sometimes it's easier to ask forgiveness than permission. Especially when you're offering half a continent for three cents an acre. |
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