The Purchase: 1801-1803

The Purchase: 1801-1803. . President Thomas Jefferson learned Spain had ceded the Louisiana Territory back to France in early 1801. Fearing Napoleon would close the Mississippi to American trade, the President sent Ambassador Robert Livingston to Paris (September, 1801) to warn France the United States would not tolerate a loss of its trade outlet or American colonies., In 1802, as Napoleon readied to occupy New Orleans with military troops, President Jefferson dispatched Pierre du Pont de Nemours to France to inform the French the United States would form a military alliance with England should they annex Louisiana. With the growing threat of French occupation, the President then sent James Monroe to Paris with the authorization to purchase the port of New Orleans and West Florida for $9,375,000., Monroe and Livingston were instructed to: 1) negotiate a peaceful settlement; and 2) if France resisted, form an immediate alliance with England. Considering Napoleon's views on world conquest, there seemed to be little chance of settlement. Suddenly, on April 11, 1803, Napoleon announced his plans to cede the entire Territory to the United States., By April 30, 1803, a treaty binding the United States to the purchase of the entire 830,000 square mile area for $15,000,000 was signed. At less than three cents per acre, the Louisiana Purchase must be considered the greatest real estate deal of all time. This happening shaped the destiny of the United States, ended Napoleon's dreams of a French empire, and confirmed Spain's fears of America's westward expansion.