Having America as a “neutral” when it came to the French and British war, it was quite difficult for Jefferson to make a foreign policy that allowed the United States to trade with both countries without taking sides in their war. Greedy for money, Napoleon sold all of Louisiana for $15 million. The Louisiana Purchase was Jefferson’s greatest diplomatic and foreign policy achievement ever. In 1801, the Barbary pirates had demanded payments from America. Raising their demands, Jefferson demanded an end to the practice of bribe payments. Jefferson sent the US Navy and a contingent of Marines to Tripoli, where a brief engagement with pirates marked the United States' first successful overseas venture.
