Compare And Contrast Thomas Jefferson With The Louisiana Purchase

Was Thomas Jefferson a patriot or a felon? There were many speculations in 1803 on whether Thomas Jefferson’s decision to follow through with the Louisiana Purchase was constitutional. He had a tough decision on his hands, between the ridicule of congress, the American people he led, and along with the deadline the French had given him to make such a decision. The dream of westward expansion and having a successful American life is a dream of the people who came to America on the first ships, to the ones who are third generation Americans. The thought of a better life, more land, and a way for their families to leave a legacy for generations to come. This is what helped drive the government to contemplate the thought of expanding the Unite …show more content…
With this information, Jefferson knew that there was no way to both stick to his strict constitutional interpretations and keep Louisiana. Jefferson had asked for an enlargement of power from the nation, where it is found necessary, than to assume it by a construction which would make our powers boundless. Our peculiar security is in the possession of a written Constitution. Let us not make it a blank paper by construction.” But, publicly, he supported the deal and urged the Senate to ratify the treaty, which it did on October 20, 1803, the House approving the payments on October 25. Jefferson signed the ratification on October 31. The affairs of the Louisiana Purchase were not personal. Thomas Jefferson did not look at it as a way to make him go down as a legacy or have his actions taken down as one of the greatest achievements in American history, it was all a national affair. He had described the Purchase as a “great achievement.” He wrote in 1810, “It is incumbent on those who accept great charges to risk themselves on great occasions.” Thomas Jefferson achieved Manifest Destiny and helped shape the Unite States to become the country that it is