-- Menu --

Introduction to the Treaty of the Louisiana Purchase

The Louisiana Purchase was the name assigned to a series of three conventions in which France sold the territory of Louisiana to the US. On the 30th of April 1803, Robert R. Livingston and James Monroe, of the US, and the French finance minister, Francois Barbe-Marbois, singed the three conventions of the Treaty. But why were there three conventions in the one Treaty?

The first convention of the Louisiana Purchase Treaty established the financial aspects of the purchase. It specifed theamount that the US would need to pay France for the territory [see Article 1]; how the US would fund this amount [see Article 2] and in what time frame this amount should be repaid, with the proviso that France could call in the total amount at any time. Furthermore, it fixed the value of the US dollar to 'five francs 3333/100000 or five livres eight Sous tounois'. [see Article 3] Ratification was to take place within a period of six months from the signing of the convention.

The second convention of the Treaty further explained the financial matter associated with the purchase of Louisiana. It established deadlines for payments [see Article 3] and included the proviso that no more than 20 million francs of interest could accumulate on repayments. [see Article 2] The conventions aimed to treat Louisiana's citizens fairly in regards to trade [see Articles 4 and 5]. Claims were to be inherited by the US upon purchase of the territory but they would have the right to verify the validity of these claims [see Articles 7, 8 and 9]. If the US rejected the claim, she would be exempt from payment and the French would have the final ruling [see Article 10]. This period of claims could onlt take place within a year of ratification [see Article 11], where ratification would occur withing a period of six months from the signing of the convnetion [see Article 13], and France would be free to persue her own claims from citizens in the area for the same amount of time. [see Article 12]

The third convention of the Treaty is by far the most important of the three, not only because it enabled the US to buy the entirety of Louisiana but because it represented the beginning of the US's continental domination and her emergence as a world power. It is also significant in that it was purchased at a time when the Constitution 'said nothing about acquiring new territory, or of promising statehood to it' [Morison and Commager p391], as Article III of the third convention stated. As such, Leonard D. White suggests that

'The purchase of Louisiana in 1803 provided the first severe test of executive authority. Jefferson himself was satisfied that he had no constutional authority to purchase the territory, and Republican doctrine confirmed this reading of the Constitution. The stakes were so enormous that the President finally abandonned his scruples; no mention was made of the constitutional difficutly in his message recommending approval; and his party followed silently the course marked out for them.' [Leonard D. White p32]

Due to the fact that the Constitution was not equipped to authorise the acquisition of new territory, Jefferson was forced to make an ammendment to the Constitution, [you can read his draft of changes to be made to the Constitution here]. According to Hunter Miller, Jefferson recieved the Treaty on July 14, 1803 and organised to convene Congress on the 17th of October in order to change the Constitution so that he was legally able to purchase the territory. The changes to the Constitution along with the ratifications of the Treaty and its conventions were passed on October 19, 1803, along with the ratifications of the Treaty and its conventions in Congress. [E. W. Lyon p243] Ratifications were exchanged the following day, making the purchase of Louisiana fully legal.

The contents of the third convention of the Treaty are highly illuminating. Article I mentions that France's cession of Louisiana to the US was dependent upon the French fulfillment of the terms of the Treaty of San Ildefonso of 1800 with France. [Read what Hunter Miller has to say about Article I here or find out more about the Treaty of San Ildefonso here] As such, the cession of Louisiana was to be viewd as 'a strong proof of his [Napoleon's and, hence, France's] friendship' with the United States. [see Article I] All property contained within the territory was to be inherited by the US with no exemptions [see Article II ] and included her citizens [see Article III]. A commissary from France would besent to Louisiana 'to transmit' the territory to America's appointed agent [see Article IV], including all of its military posts, with their accompanying personnel withdrawing within three months of ratification [see Article V].

One of the major issues focussed on in the third convention was that of trade. As a result, the US was to continue to honour treaties made by either Spain or France with Native American Indians in their time as owners of Louisiana [see Article VI]. Likewise th Us should also establish a trade equality with France for a 'limited time' [see Article VII]; this should also include equal rights for Spanish vessels for a period of twleve yeras in US ports commencing three months after ratification. French ships, however, were to 'be treated upon the footing of the most favoured naitons in the ports' beyond the expiration of the tweleve years stipulated in the convention [see Article VIII].

Both the first and second conventions of the Treaty were to be ratified as if present in the third convention, forming an intergral part of its terms and conditions. [see Article IX] Ratification was to take place within six months of the signing of the Treaty in France.

 

Interested in learning more about the Louisiana Treaty?