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THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE

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Toward the end of the 18 century the region East of Texas (Louisiana) was occupied
government representatives of both Spain and France who were disputing outright
ownership of that area. During that same time, which followed the Revolutionary War
in the United States, many United States inhabitants began moving into the area.

In 1800 Napoleon, First Consul of the powerful French Republic, forced the King of
Spain to cede Louisiana to France in return for some small Italian territory, Following
that Napoleon experienced a series of defeats in his efforts to establish an empire in the
New World.

Add to all that the fact that Great Britain had just been defeated by the Americans and
was upset about losing territory in the New World they had previously felt was their

own. Napoleon feared France might soon have a conflict with Great Britain over the
territory France owned in the New World.

Almost at the same time the French flag was being hoisted over New Orleans to replace
the Spanish flag negotiations began between the newly established United States and
France. The United States wanted the Louisiana territory. In 1803 Napoleon suddenly
sold a large section of the country to the United States which history calls the Louisiana
Purchase.

U.S. President Jefferson’s purchase of Louisiana in 1803 was more in the nature of
support of the great movement of people from the established states to new territories
than it was for commercial interest. Since America had become a free society where
the citizens elected their leaders, the government had to be responsive to the will of the

people. In other words the reason for the purchase was political and not practical
although it turned out to be very practical.

THE U.S. THOUGHT THEY HAD BOUGHT TEXAS, TOO

Following the Louisiana Purchase the United States government insisted that it had
bought not only Louisiana, but everything North and East of the Rio Grande as well.
That would have been Texas. It seemed the French, in order to sweeten the Louisiana
pot, had claimed they also owned the Texas area and included that area in the Louisiana

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