-: Germany;
-: France;
-: Great Britain;
-: Russia;
The procedure for creating new US states was determined
-: Ordinance of 1787;
-: Bill of Rights;
-: Decision of the Senate;
First stage civil war in the USA
-: 1861-1862;
-: 1863-1864;
-: 1864-1865;
-: summer 1865;
In the XVIII century. the right to pardon and suspend the execution of sentences
-: Minister of Justice;
-: The president;
-: Congress;
-: parliament;
Judicial branch belongs to the USA
-: the Supreme Court;
-: parliament;
-: President;
-: the Senate;
The first ten amendments to the US Constitution of 1787 are called
-: Constitutional convention;
-: Bill of Rights;
-: "Articles of Confederation";
-: Declaration of Independence;
The full independence of the United States was recognized by Great Britain with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in
-: 1783;
-: 1780;
-: 1789;
-: 1880;
Executive power in the USA (XVIII century) belonged to
-: Congress;
-: parliament;
-: the Senate;
-: President;
In the XVIII century. The President of the United States had the right
- develop a draft budget;
-: decide on the start of actual hostilities;
-: suspensive veto in respect of bills;
- : pronounce sentences;
The first state-legal document in the history of the United States that proclaimed the principle of national sovereignty and recognized the people's right to revolution was
-: Bill of Rights 1689;
-: Declaration of Independence;
-: "Articles of the Confederation";
-: Constitution;
To conduct the general affairs of the United States in the XVIII century. formed
-: parliament;
-: Congress;
-: State Council;
The German Confederation was formed
-: in 1810;
-: in 1814;
-: in 1815;
-: in 1820;
774. In 1847, at the conference of the Customs Union of German States, it was adopted (a)
-: Commercial Code;
-: All-German bill of exchange charter;
-: Constitution of the North German Confederation;
-: Declaration;
The highest representative body of the German Empire in the XIX century. was considered
-: Bundesrat;
-: Cabinet of Ministers;
-: Soyuz-Hanse;
-: Magistrate;
776.In the German Criminal Code of 1871, general issues of criminal law: on the stages of a crime, on complicity, etc. set out in
-: the first part of the code;
-: the second part of the code;
-: the third part of the code;
-: the fourth part of the code;
According to the German Criminal Code of 1871, this type of crime was in the first place.
-: against religion;
-: state;
-: against property and against the person;
-: police violations;
778. The German Civil Code of 1896 regulated more
-: 10 types of contracts;
-: 20 types of contracts;
-: 25 types of contracts;
-: 30 types of contracts;
779. Instead of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, a ___ union was created
Rhine;
German;
North Germanic;
Greater Germanic;
The central government of the German Confederation is
Union Seimas;
Reichstag;
Bundestag;
Landtag;
781. "Little German way of unification" assumed the unification of German lands around
Prussia;
Bavaria;
Wüttemberg;
Saxony;
The German Empire was proclaimed in
According to the Prussian Constitution of 1850, legislative power belonged to
King and Landtag;
Reichstag;
Landtag;
The German Confederation was an alliance
Kingdoms and cities;
Kingdoms;
Cities;
785. A feature of the formation of the chamber of deputies of the Prussian parliament was (a)
Election by curiae;
Appointment by the king;
Indirect election system;
Appointment by the upper house;
played a leading role in the German Empire
Prussia;
Austria;
Bavaria;
Saxony;
The government of the German Empire personified
Chancellor;
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Representation of territories in the German Empire carried out
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Union Sejm;
Emperor of Germany could be
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played a leading role in the German Confederation.
Austria;
Prussia;
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791. The German civil code was built on the ___ system
pandectnoy;
institutional;
precedent;
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Fereyna;
institutions;
The German Civil Code was adopted in
When talking about "bloody Americans", it is not superfluous to recall that the United States, perhaps the first in the history of mankind, began to buy territories, instead of fighting for them. Many modern states were simply bought from European states and not a drop of blood was shed for them. Alexey Durnovo, about the territories for which America paid with gold, not with fire.
Buy Louisiana on sale. 300 percent as a gift
American society almost cursed Thomas Jefferson for this deal. The president was accused of squandering public funds on useless lands unsuitable for settlement. The whole point of the purchase of Louisiana, which had recently seceded from Spain to France, was to acquire the important US port of New Orleans. The surrounding territories were not needed at all so much. Buying Louisiana for a lot of money also meant war with Spain, and probably with Great Britain. The deal looked like complete madness. But Jefferson, nevertheless, cranked it up. I must say that Napoleon Bonaparte, who then ruled France, was very pleased with the American proposal. The emperor understood that during the next war he could lose overseas territories without any compensation, because there was simply no one to protect them from possible encroachments of Great Britain. Tellingly, the United States acquired from France not only the current Louisiana. Together with New Orleans and the mouth of the Mississippi, the United States also received the right to develop a number of territories north and east of the river. On the lands purchased in 1803, there are now 13 states, including Minnesota and North Dakota, which are quite far from Louisiana.
Luis de Onis and Gonzalez-Vara gave Florida to the US for next to nothing
The Adams-Onis Treaty (US Secretary of State and Spanish Foreign Minister) fixed a deal to transfer the rights to Florida to the United States. Formally, it was not a purchase, but a transfer. Spain renounced territorial claims over these territories, and the United States received them free of charge. More precisely, the government of the United States did not have to pay anything to Spain, but not to the subjects of this kingdom. According to the treaty, any Spaniard who lost land or property as a result of the transfer of Florida could claim damages from the United States. To resolve these disputes, a special commission was established, which worked for more than four years. As a result of its activities, the US government paid the Spaniards more than 5 and a half million dollars in damages.
Danish map of Santa Cruz - the largest of the Virgin Islands
It turns out that the tiny Virgin Islands cost the US more than Florida, Alaska, or the vast territories bought along with Louisiana. But here everything is simple. $15 million in 1803 was worth much more than $25 in 1917. So the amount of the transaction was quite adequate. The United States tried to buy the Virgin Islands back in the 19th century, since Denmark, which owned these territories, the archipelago was not urgently needed. But the deal took place only in 1917. The United States entered the First World War and feared that the Virgin Islands would become a base for the German fleet. In Denmark, meanwhile, held a referendum. Both the inhabitants of the European part and the inhabitants of the islands themselves voted for the sale. By the way, 25 million dollars equaled half of the annual budget of the Scandinavian kingdom.
More like a private than a public deal. American diplomat James Gadsden had a considerable interest in the construction railway from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific. It was more convenient to pave the way through the territory of California that belonged to Mexico. After much debate, Gadsden convinced the government that buying 40 million acres of Mexican land in southern California would be a bargain. As a result, 10 million dollars were paid for the land. The United States had to overpay by about one and a half times, due to strained relations with Mexico. However, income from the railway quickly covered the cost of buying land.
Sale of Alaska
The most famous example in Russia, because Alaska was bought from us. The authorities of the Russian Empire did not really understand what to do with their territories in North America, but the United States actively showed interest in the peninsula. Russia thought about selling Alaska back in the mid-1950s. Several ministers pointed out that overseas possessions were poorly defended, and that Canada was nearby - the territory was by no means friendly to the British Empire. In the years Crimean War the issue was particularly acute. Britain was ready to land troops in Alaska. Realizing the danger of the situation, Russian empire, in the end, decided to sell Alaska to the friendly (at that time) United States. The deal amounted to $ 7.2 million, a huge amount at that time. Russia, however, initially wanted 10, but this amount was sky-high in the middle of the 19th century.
The Louisiana Purchase is an 1803 deal in which the United States acquired French colonial possessions on the North American continent. This territory accounted for almost a quarter of the entire territory of the United States and is considered the largest land acquisition in world history.
background
The vast area that was then called Louisiana is today home to the states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Iowa, and Kansas.
The first Europeans to arrive in Louisiana were the Spanish conquistadors. But since Madrid did nothing to develop new overseas territories, French colonists settled here. They founded new cities and gave the name to this land. The word "Louisiana" itself is derived from the name of the French king - Louis XIV.
After the French and Indian War in 1762, Paris divided these unprofitable, according to the French, lands along the Mississippi River. The eastern part was given to Great Britain, and the western part to Spain. At the same time, in the Spanish half it turned out to be very important in strategic plan New Orleans, located on the Mississippi. Thanks to a lucky geographic location cities, Spain could control all the ships that sailed along the river.
In the Anglo-American War, Spain supported the rebellious American colonies and advanced against Great Britain, which had views of New Orleans. In 1795, Spain and the United States signed an agreement that defined the border between the states. Under this agreement, the Americans had the opportunity to transport their goods for export along the Mississippi. In 1798, Spain abruptly denied them this right. Just three years later, US citizens were again able to float their cargo on the river, however, this situation made the US government think about taking full control of the Mississippi.
In 1800, a secret treaty was concluded between Napoleon Bonaparte and the Spanish King Charles, according to which Spain returned Louisiana to France in exchange for a kingdom in Italy.
Deal
After the terms of the agreement between Spain and France became known to Washington, an American delegation arrived in Paris, which offered Napoleon to sell the port of New Orleans and its environs. Then the Americans received a decisive refusal. However, the further policy of France in overseas territories turned out to be a failure. In 1802, the French fleet set off for the shores of America, which was supposed to deliver a military garrison to Louisiana. However, the ships got stuck in the ice, and the army never managed to occupy new French territories. In addition, Napoleon lost his Caribbean colonies, and without them it was not easy to control Louisiana. The remoteness of the territories and the inability to fence them off from the encroachments of the Americans and the British made Napoleon seriously think about the US proposal.
Lands acquired by the US as part of the Louisiana Purchase on a US map
Representatives of the American side came to Paris again. They planned to buy the coveted port for $10 million, but instead received a lucrative offer: to purchase all of Louisiana for just $15 million. In May, the deal was made, and on July 4, 1803, President Jefferson announced the purchase to the entire American people. And only at the end of October the deal was ratified by the Senate.
The official transfer of Louisiana to the possession of the United States was not without curiosities. In 1802, the French never arrived in America and did not receive official permission to own this territory from the Spanish governor. Therefore, in order for the deal to be considered legal, at the end of 1803 in New Orleans, a specially invited Spanish delegation declared Louisiana French territory. And only three weeks later, the French solemnly transferred the rights to Louisiana to the Americans.
US policy in the newly acquired territories
In 1804, the Americans divided their acquisition into the Territory of Orleans and the District of Louisiana. For a long time in the west there was no exact border between these lands and Texas, which then still belonged to Spain. In order to avoid conflicts in 1806, the two powers decided to create a no man's land, where both soldiers and civilians would be forbidden to be. However, despite the ban, deserters and fugitive criminals began to hide here. They called these lands the Free State of Sabine.
In general, the procedures that the American administration introduced in Louisiana were extremely undemocratic. First of all, the colored population of the state suffered from them. Racial discrimination applied not only to slaves taken out of Africa, but also to children born to black women from white men. The Spanish administration looked favorably on the descendants of such mixed unions, they received a decent education and could occupy a high position in society. But with the advent of the Americans in Louisiana, rigid centralized power and racial segregation were established.
louisiana dollar purchase, louisiana dollar purchase
(eng. Louisiana Purchase) - a deal for the acquisition by the United States of French possessions in North America in 1803. The area acquired is estimated to be 530 million acres (828,000 miles² or 2,100,000 km²). The transaction price was 15 million US dollars or 80 million French francs (the final transaction amount for the US, including interest on the loan, was 23,213,568 US dollars). Based on this, the price of one acre was 3 cents (7 cents per hectare).
On the territories that have departed in favor of the United States under the treaty of 1803, the modern states are currently located:
- Arkansas,
- Missouri,
- Iowa,
- Oklahoma,
- Kansas,
- Nebraska,
- southern Minnesota,
- most of North Dakota,
- almost the entire state of South Dakota,
- northeastern New Mexico,
- most of Montana,
- part of Wyoming,
- north Texas,
- eastern half of Colorado,
- part of Louisiana (on both sides of the Mississippi River), including the city of New Orleans.
During the negotiations and directly during the transaction, Spain declared its claims to part of the territory of the state of Oklahoma and the southwestern part of the states of Kansas and Louisiana. According to the treaty, territories that eventually became part of the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan departed for the United States. The land acquired as a result of the transaction amounted to about 23% of the territory of the modern United States of America.
The Louisiana Purchase was one of the milestones in political life third US President Thomas Jefferson. Although Jefferson was concerned about the legality of the deal (the US Constitution did not contain articles on the acquisition of territories from foreign countries), he nevertheless decided to make a deal due to the fact that France and Spain prevented the Americans from trading through the port of New Orleans.
- 1 Prologue
- 2 Negotiations
- 3 American Society in the days of the Louisiana Purchase
- 4 Signing the contract
- 5 Borders
- 6 Financial side of the deal
- 7 See also
- 8 Links
Prologue
Louisiana has been a Spanish colony since 1762. Due to its favorable geographical position, New Orleans completely controlled the Mississippi River, one of the main water arteries of North America, and was an important transit point for which, in accordance with the Pinckney Treaty signed with Spain on October 27, 1795, American citizens received the right to export trade through the port. New Orleans. The Americans also received the right to use the port for transshipment of flour, tobacco, pork, lard, poultry feathers, cider, butter and cheese between the eastern and western states. The treaty also recognized the right of the American side, in view of the growth of business activity, to navigate the entire Mississippi River.
But already in 1798, Spain unilaterally canceled the Treaty, which greatly puzzled the leadership of the United States. In 1801, the Spanish Governor Don Juan Manuel de Salcedo replaced the Marquis de Casa Calvo as the governor, and the right to transship cargo for the Americans was fully restored.
In 1800, under the Treaty of San Ildefonso, Spain ceded control of Louisiana to France. However, the treaty signed at San Ildefonso was secret and it was believed that Louisiana was under Spanish jurisdiction until it was completely transferred to the control of the French state. The final transfer of control of Louisiana from Spain to France took place on November 30, 1803, just three weeks before the sale to the United States.
The Americans, in connection with the events around Louisiana, feared that they would lose the right to trade through New Orleans. President Thomas Jefferson decides that the best solution to the current situation is to buy New Orleans and eastern Louisiana along the Mississippi River. Jefferson sends James Monroe and Robert Livingston to Paris for preliminary negotiations. only New Orleans and its environs were identified as the object of acquisition, but no one could foresee what proposal the French side would put forward.
Original Louisiana Purchase Agreement
Negotiation
The American leadership, having learned about the existence of a secret agreement between Spain and France on the transfer of control over Louisiana, sends ambassadors to Paris to negotiate the sale of New Orleans. Initially, the French side responded with a categorical refusal.
In 1802, Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (fr. Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours) was sent to Paris to help Livingston and Monroe. Dupont, who lived for a long time in the United States, was a close friend of Thomas Jefferson and had useful connections with the French political establishment. Through covert diplomatic channels, Dupont entered into negotiations with Napoleon on behalf of the President of the United States. Dupont suggested to Jefferson the idea that Louisiana could be acquired under the threat of open US conflict with France in North America. But Jefferson categorically rejected such a proposal, since Jefferson suggested that France should retain rights in Louisiana. Moreover, Jefferson was sure that the American president did not have the constitutional authority to participate in such transactions and, in addition, introduces elements of the dictate of federal power over the power of individual states. On the other hand, one could not ignore the potential threats from the neighborhood of a young rapidly growing nation with a huge colonial empire, as well as the opinion of the Napoleonic Foreign Minister Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, who was a passionate opponent of the sale of Louisiana.
Meanwhile, French expeditionary forces under the command of Napoleon's son-in-law, General Charles Leclerc, tried to suppress the uprisings of slaves in San Dominica (now the territory of the Dominican Republic). But the plans of Napoleon Bonaparte were not destined to come true.
The political conflict in Guadeloupe and San Dominica grew into a slave revolt on May 20, 1802, and led to the fact that the French black officer Jean-Jacques Dessalines and the mulatto officer Alexandre Pétion in October 1802 went over to the side of the rebel slaves and began guerrilla war against the colonial troops of the mother country. Most of the French managed to evacuate to France in June 1802 (fr. Toussaint L "Ouverture), but the yellow fever epidemic claimed the lives of many French soldiers. General Leclerc also became a victim of the epidemic.
Before Napoleonic France, which did not have enough forces in America, the threat of losing control over Louisiana and the fulfillment of the San Ildefonso treaty rose to its full height. Napoleon was well aware that Britain or the United States could easily capture Louisiana. Only a peace treaty with Great Britain and Ireland could ensure the redistribution of forces to hold the American colonies. But Great Britain violated its obligations under the Treaty of Amiens and did not withdraw its troops from Malta by September 1802. At the beginning of 1803, it became clear that a full-scale conflict between France and Great Britain would not be avoided, and on March 11, 1803, Napoleon gave the order to build a fleet to invade Britain.
Preparations for the invasion led Napoleon to reconsider his plans for building a French empire in the New World (L'Empire colonial français). Napoleon orders his finance minister, François de Barbé-Marbois, on April 10, 1803, to notify the American side of his agreement to sell the entire territory of Louisiana to the United States. The Marquis de Barbey-Marbois April 11, 1803, the day before the arrival of James Monroe in Paris, brings to the attention of Robert Livingston Napoleon's offer to sell all of Louisiana, and not just the territory of New Orleans. However, as it turned out, the American side was absolutely not ready for such a proposal.
The American ambassadors were ready to pay only for the territory of New Orleans the amount of 10 million US dollars, and were shocked when the French side offered to buy the entire territory of Louisiana for 15 million dollars. The purchase agreement was drawn up on April 30, 1803 and signed on May 2. The Washington signed treaty arrived on July 14, 1803. Louisiana was vast, from the Gulf of Mexico in the south to Rupert's Land in the north, and from the Mississippi River in the east to the Rocky Mountains in the west. The total area sold was twice the size of the United States. The price of one acre of land according to the results of the transaction was 3 cents (7 cents per hectare).
American Society in the Days of the Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase was not without friction within American society. Most citizens considered Jefferson's position hypocritical and aimed only at aggravating relations with Alexander Hamilton. The Federalists strongly opposed the conclusion of a deal to acquire French possessions in North America, preferring good relations with Great Britain to relations with Napoleon, just as they were sure that the United States paid a huge sum simply for declaring war on Spain.
The Federalists feared that the political power of the states along the Atlantic coast would pit Western farmers against New England merchants and bankers. There were also serious fears that the expansion of the territories of the slave states would lead to a further increase in tension between the North and the South. A faction of the Federalist Party under Massachusetts Senator Timothy Pickering even went so far as to voice a proposal to partition the Northern Confederation. Vice President Aaron Burr was asked to lead the new country on the condition that he could persuade New York to support the decision. Aaron Burr's relationship with Alexander Hamilton, the one who helped put an end to the northern separatist movement, hit its lowest point during this period. Mutual enmity between the two politicians led to Burr killing Alexander Hamilton in a duel in 1804.
Signing an agreement
The Louisiana Sale Treaty was signed on April 30, 1803 in Paris by Robert Livingston, James Monroe, and the Marquis of Barbe-Marbois. Jefferson announced the signing of the treaty to American citizens on July 4, 1803. The United States Senate ratified the treaty on October 20. 24 members of the Senate voted for the ratification of the treaty, and seven voted against. The day after the vote in the Senate, Thomas Jefferson was able to take control of the acquired territories and establish a provisional military government. By a special legislative act passed on October 31, 1803, the Senate established provisional rules for the local civil authorities of the annexed territories to follow the laws of France and Spain, and allowed the President to use military force to restore order if necessary. In order to study and map the acquired lands of Louisiana, it was planned to build four forts. soon these studies were carried out by the expedition of Lewis and Clark.
French government offices left New Orleans by December 1803, and on March 10, 1804, an official ceremony was held in the city of St. Louis at which the ownership of Louisiana passed from France to the United States. Beginning October 1, 1804, the acquired lands were transformed into the Orleans Territory (later the lands of the State of Louisiana and the District of Louisiana). Indiana Territory).
Borders
At the time of the sale of Louisiana itself, it was not well studied, and its boundaries were not clearly defined. France took advantage of this circumstance, not wanting to aggravate relations with Spain, refusing to determine the southern and western borders of the territory being sold.
The northern border of the acquired territories extended beyond the 50th parallel. However, the lands above the 49th parallel (Red River, Milk River and Poplar River) were transferred to Great Britain under the Anglo-American Convention of 1818.
The eastern borders of Louisiana were defined by the mouth of the Mississippi River at the 31st parallel, although the location of the mouth of the Mississippi was not known at that time. Eastern border below the 31st parallel was not determined; The United States claimed territory downstream of the Perdido River, and Spain defined the boundaries of its Florida colony along the Mississippi River. The treaty signed with Spain in 1819 removed these contradictions. Today, the 31st parallel is the northern boundary of the western Florida Panhandle, and the Perdido River is the official border between the states of Florida and Alabama.
The deal pushed back the western borders to the Rocky Mountains, bounded by the Continental Divide.
The southern border of the acquired territory was also not defined at the time of the purchase. Official demarcation lines were established only as a result of the signing of the Adams-Onis Treaty. This was preceded by the creation of the Sabine Free State under the Neutral Ground Treaty of 1806 in the disputed territories.
Almost all of the acquired land was occupied by the American Indians, from whom the land was repurchased, step by step. total amount, paid to the Indians for the land, exceeded the purchase price of the same land from France. In fact, as a result of the deal, France acquired not the right to the territory, but the right to redeem these territories from the Indians. And with the Indians themselves, as with the indigenous inhabitants of these lands, neither sellers nor buyers consulted. Most Indians never even knew about the deal.
The financial side of the deal
To pay for the deal, the US government used bonds. France, being at war with Great Britain, did not want to buy or exchange American bonds. But American diplomats Livingston and Monroe recommended that the Baring banking house in London and the Hope & Co. bank in Amsterdam (Hope & Co.) be used for the deal. The French representatives accepted this offer and, given Napoleon's impatience to get the money from the deal as quickly as possible, the French finance minister Barbe-Marbois arranged with the banks to exchange American bonds for cash. After the American bonds were delivered to Europe, the French side sold them to Barings and Hope at a discount. Part of the amount, approximately sixty million francs (about fifteen million US dollars), was used to offset debts between France and the United States. In the final settlement, the French side received 8,831,250 US dollars.
Until the bankruptcy in 1995, the original documents accompanying the sale of Louisiana were exhibited in the lobby of the London office of the Baring bank.
see also
- Sale of Alaska
- World Exhibition (1904)
Links
- Text of the Louisiana Purchase Treaty
- Louisiana Purchase Treaty and related resources at the Library of Congress
- Teaching about the Louisiana Purchase
- Louisiana Purchase Bicentennial 1803-2003
- The Louverture Project: The Haitian Revolution and the Louisiana Purchase
| US expansion | ||
|---|---|---|
| Doctrine of Discovery Manifest Destiny American Exceptionalism American Imperialism Monroe Doctrine Pax Americana | ||
| Continental expansion |
Thirteen Colonies (1776) Peace of Paris (1783) Louisiana Purchase (1803) 49th Parallel Boundary (1818) Annexation of Florida (1819) Annexation of Texas (1845) Treaty of Oregon (1846) Mexican Cession (1848) Gadsden Purchase (1853) Alaska Purchase (1867) |
|
| Overseas expansion |
Guana Islands Act (1856) Annexation of Hawaii (1898) Annexation of the Spanish West Indies, Philippines and Guam (1898) Annexation of Samoa (1899) Lease of the Panama Canal Zone (1903) Lease of Guantanamo Bay (1903) Lease of the Corn Islands (1914) Purchase Virgin Islands (1917) Ryukyu Occupation (1945) Pacific Islands Trust (1947) |
|
| Decolonization |
Abandonment of the Pinos Islands (1925) Consolidation of Cuban sovereignty (1934) Recognition of the independence of the Philippines (1946) Return of the Swan Islands (1971) Return of the Corn Islands (1971) Return of the Ryukyu (1972) Return of the Panama Canal Zone (1979) Return 14 Line Islands (1979) Return of the three San Andres y Providencia Reefs (1981) Termination of the Pacific Islands Trusteeship (1994) |
|
| See also: US occupations and invasions US military bases | ||
Louisiana Airfare Purchase, Louisiana Auto Purchase, Louisiana Dollar Purchase, Louisiana Railway Purchase
Louisiana Purchase Information About
215 years ago, on April 30, 1803, the greatest real estate transaction in the history of mankind took place in Paris. One side was not happy with her, and the other was almost horrified. Nevertheless, the treaty that France sells to the North American United States a territory the size of a quarter of all of Europe was signed and became a reality.
The territory was called Louisiana, and only the name unites it with the current state of the United States. Louisiana, more than two hundred years old, now contains 15 states. The total area is almost 2.5 million square meters. km. Robert Livingston, who signed the sale and purchase agreement on the American side, uttered a phrase on this occasion that later became famous: “We have lived a long life, but this is the most remarkable achievement of our whole life. From this day on, the United States has taken its place among the first powers of the world." Note: this was said by a man who is part of the pantheon of the "Founding Fathers of the United States." The man who drafted the Declaration of Independence. However, he himself believes that on the scales Big Stories the purchase of Louisiana weighs much more than the acquisition of independence by his homeland.But the victorious fanfare and the realization of greatness came later. On that April day, both Robert Livingston and his partner James Monroe belonged precisely to the side that was terrified. Perhaps they even secretly prayed that the whole thing would turn out to be a bad dream and would not happen at all. The most interesting thing is that all this really could not have taken place. And then the loose enclave of a dozen and a half states, clinging to the east coast of America, would have a very illusory chance of becoming a superpower.
Land acquired by the United States under the Louisiana Purchase. Photo: commons.wikimedia.org
Settle forever
A significant and politically very influential part of the elite of the youngest state of the Earth sincerely believed that territorial acquisitions could only spoil the cause of nation building. There were reasons for this. The territory of the then United States totaled approximately 2 million square meters. km. The population is less than 6 million people. And at least one million of these six are slaves. That is, by the standards and concepts of that time, not quite real people.
Controllability with such dispersion is already bad. But what if people decide to settle further west? After all, they will scatter so that you will not find it. By the way, there were good reasons for this. People really wanted to leave. To early XIX centuries of land in the controlled territory were bought up and divided. Millions of migrants dreamed of a better life, about becoming masters and free people, but it turned out that the only option is to hunch back on those who came to America earlier and managed to cut the pie.
Until then, the excitement of the exodus was restrained by a direct ban on settling west of the Appalachian Mountains. However Thomas Jefferson, another "founding father" of the United States, pushed through the lifting of the ban. The stream rushed to the west. Now it was limited only by the Mississippi, beyond which a foreign land began.In principle, even this created problems. The states were divided by the Appalachian mountains to the west and east. Normal trade could be established only by sea: through the Gulf of Mexico, the port of New Orleans and further along the Mississippi.
The US government faced two main challenges. To prevent further dispersion of people west of the Mississippi - time. To make sure that New Orleans, standing, by the way, on that very foreign land, functions properly - two. And pray that this structure, already shaky, would somehow hold on.
Marshes in southern Louisiana. Swamp cypresses. Photo: commons.wikimedia.org
Napoleon in the New World
Confusion in a more or less working system brings - suddenly - Napoleon who seemed cramped in Europe. And who remembered just in time that Louisiana belongs to France. The plan was good. Restore the French base in Haiti. Based on it, to begin the real colonization of Louisiana, and in the long run - to undermine the British colonial power.
In 1801 the plan was put into action. And everything could have worked out: a corps of 20 thousand people was landed in Haiti. More than enough to regain control of the territory. But for the first time partisans, together with nature, came out against Napoleon. Black Haitians destroyed roads and poisoned wells. Heat. Tropics. Outbreak of "yellow fever": hepatitis. And in a matter of months, only one memory remained of the corps.
In fact, Napoleon did not particularly consider losses. And this modest failure would hardly have stopped his onslaught. France had the strength to break into New World truly and make Louisiana truly yours. Only these forces now turned out to be desperately needed by Napoleon in Europe: the next round of confrontation with England began.
In a word, the alignment before the deal of all times and peoples was like this.
The United States is categorically against the expansion of the territory. They can barely handle even what they already have. And to keep going, they need New Orleans and the free navigation of the Mississippi. The government is even ready to pay for this joy.
Napoleon intends to converge with England in deadly fight. And for the war he needs three things: money, money, and again money. And he decides to cede New Orleans to the USA. But with the added weight of the whole of Louisiana: in order to finally shake off this suitcase without a handle.
Learn to trade
A classic situation: you have a product, we have a merchant. Only one snag. The merchant in this case wants a single port town. And it looks with horror at a appendage the size of a quarter of Europe.
The trade was great.
Do it once. Napoleon is asking for $22 million for everything. Livingston and Monroe say that in fact it was only about New Orleans, the issue price is $ 8 million and this is all the money that the United States has in principle.
Do two. Napoleon is silent for three weeks. Tightly. And cunning French diplomats sing to two naive Americans that Mr. First Consul might change his mind. And even cooler: send another expeditionary force, but not to Haiti, but straight to the Mississippi.
do three. Monroe gets sick on a nervous basis: he lies in bed and cannot get up. Neuralgia, any movement causes pain. Livingston begs the French to take pity, but gets the standard answer: either take everything or shish you, not New Orleans.
Do four. After a real MAT pause, Napoleon suddenly cuts the price to $15 million. Americans feel great relief. And they sign a contract. Although there is no money and is not expected. And in general, it is not yet known how their efforts will be assessed at home.
The US Congress ratified the treaty with great difficulty, with reluctance and (almost against their will) only in the winter of 1803. The actual transfer of sovereignty took place in the spring of 1804, a whole year after the deal.And about the assessment of that agreement, a historian from the New Orleans Museum can say better than others Charles Chamberlain: “We received the forests and minerals of the mountains, a giant navigable river and the most fertile lands in its valley. Louisiana played a huge role in the development of that economic power reached by America late XIX century. If not for the Louisiana Purchase, the United States would be a small country on the edge of a huge continent occupied by English, French and Spanish colonies.
