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Show ACQUISITION OF THE PUBLIC DOMAIN 77 desire additional territory, perhaps more to rid themselves of annoyances than to add more land. It was not Canada or Florida, however, that was the first to fall to the United States, but Louisiana. The portion of Spain's huge possessions that Americans lusted for was New Orleans where, if the right of deposit was withheld, serious harm would be done the frontiersmen. When John Jay tried to secure other concessions from Spain and showed a willingness to surrender the right of navigation of the Mississippi-both of whose banks were controlled by Spain-there was angry dissent in the West, talk about withdrawal from the Union, and possibly treasonable discussions with Spanish authorities. Finally, in 1795 the Pinckney Treaty was ratified by both countries: the United States won the right of navigation of the Mississippi through Spanish territory and also secured recognition of its southwest boundary at the 31st parallel. The frontiersmen breathed peacefully again for a time, but not for long. In 1800 Napoleon, dreaming of world conquests and a huge intercontinental empire, induced Spain in the Treaty of San Ildefonso to cede Louisiana -including New Orleans and the territory to the Rocky Mountains-to France. Louisiana Purchase Spain's control of the Louisiana Territory and New Orleans had not proved altogether harmful to settlers in the trans-Allegheny country. It had been easy to secure concessions from Spain and there seemed to be little reason to worry about control of the mouth of the Mississippi. But with France in control and Napoleon in the saddle the situation changed over night. France could block American progress westward and could cast a blight over the development of the trans-Allegheny country. Furthermore, in 1802 before the transfer was made, Spain had ordered the closing of the Mississippi to American ships. Though revoked after American protests, the transfer of the territory to France and the order closing the river to- gether constituted one of the greatest menaces the young Republic had faced since the conclusion of the Revolution. Jefferson dispatched representatives to negotiate for the purchase of New Orleans, East or West Florida or both, and perhaps a part of Louisiana. The results were not promising until a turn of events in Europe and the terrible losses the French Army suffered from disease in Santo Domingo induced Napoleon to change his plans and to offer for sale the entire Louisiana Territory including New Orleans. The territory involved was so large that it would change the nature of the Union and Jefferson seriously doubted whether he ought to accept the offer without first securing an amendment to the Constitution authorizing the acquisition. This, however, would take time and quick action was necessary. Jefferson realized that the acquisition would arouse profound concern and indeed strong objection in some parts of the country, notably New England, but he was too good a statesman to allow his doubts and the fear of sectional discord to permit the opportunity to be lost. Thus fortuitously a grave danger was turned into a great diplomatic and political victory. For 3 cents an acre, 523,446,400 acres were added to American territory, just about doubling the national area. An American resident in New Orleans at the time commented, "It is astonishing while the nations of Europe are destroying thousands of men & wasting millions of treasure for trifling spots of ground our government has in a few days and for a comparatively small sum of money purchased a tract of country nearly as large as Europe. . . . This great event surpasses the expectations of the most sanguine American among us."2 2 Benjamin Morgan to Chandler Price, Aug. 11, 1803, in C. E. Garter, The Territorial Papers of the United States, IX, 8. Arthur P. Whitaker has two important books on the events leading to the purchase of the Louisiana Territory: The Spanish-American Frontier: 1783-1795 (Boston, 1927), and The Mississippi Question 1795-1803 (New York, 1934). Also see Samuel Flagg Bemis, A Diplomatic History of the United States (New York, 1950), passim. |