Money was not the only worry occupying Jefferson's thoughts, though. Napoleon Bonaparte and France had been fighting wars around the world for years, trying to build an empire. France also had control of Louisiana. Jefferson was worried that Napoleon would close New Orleans and the Mississippi River to American trade. Thus, Jefferson warned Napoleon that if France put troops in Louisiana, the United States would fight back and might even join with Britain, an old enemy, to fight against them. This made Napoleon nervous because he had been at war against Britain on and off for years. Jefferson really did want to keep peace, though, so he got permission from Congress to offer to buy New Orleans. He sent James Monroe to Paris to Bargain with France. He offered about $10 million for just New Orleans, but then Napoleon offered to sell the whole Louisiana territory for $15 million dollars. This was more than Congress had approved to spend, but Monroe knew he had to jump at the chance and agreed to the deal. The treaty giving us the territory was signed on April 30, 1803.
Napoleon had just given us a huge deal, but he had reasons for doing so. France had just lost a lot of money and a lot of troops fighting a slave revolt in Haiti. He realized that France probably couldn't defend the Louisiana territory so he decided to take the money he could get for it. Also, a larger U.S. meant more of a threat for Britain, whom he disliked greatly.
The news of the treaty reached the U.S. on July 4, 1803, the country's 27th birthday. People were very pleased with the purchase, despite the fact that it was more money than the nation had in its treasury. The purchase of Louisiana was probably one of the most significant events in our nation's history for many reasons. It opened the Mississippi River for trade, removed a foreign power (France) from the continent, provided vast amounts of fertile land for farming, supplied resources like oil, gold, and silver, doubled the size of the U.
