Why was the United States able to buy Louisiana at a very low price?

Question

Why was the United States able to buy Louisiana at a very low price?

please help i can;t find the answer anywhere.... i will give best answer to the one who gives me a helpful answer by the end of today( January 07, 2007)

Answer 1

there is crap load of stuff on this every us history text books.Its just not lousinia state but territory that we bought from the french. search for louisinia treaty or purchase treaty on google, there crap loamd of stuff on it. THrust me.

Answer 2

The United States got the Louisiana Purchase for about 3 cents an acre from France, which was in debt and at war with Britain at the time. The French were desperate for money and so, they sold the land for a dirt cheap price- only $15,000,000.

If you want more information about the Louisiana Purchase, go to this website:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana_Purchase

Answer 3

While it is true that the French were in debt up to their ears, they still wouldn't have sold the land at that price if they had realized how much property it entailed. The land had never been surveyed and the French didn't realize how much land they were selling...actually, neither the buyer nor the sellers realized it and the U.S. landed a gold mine but quite by accident when they finally got around to surveying the property.

If I remember American History correctly, it is the largest piece of land ever acquired by Americans without fighting...even bigger than the Alaskan Purchase many years later. Could be wrong on that and I will stand corrected if someone counters me. It was the most land acquired at the cheapest price anyway.

Answer 4

Reasons for the Purchase
The revelation in 1801 of the secret agreement of 1800, whereby Spain retroceded Louisiana to France, aroused uneasiness in the United States both because Napoleonic France was an aggressive power and because Western settlers depended on the Mississippi River for commerce. In a letter to the American minister to France, Robert R. Livingston (1746–1813; see Livingston, family), President Jefferson stated that “The day that France takes possession of New Orleans … we must marry ourselves to the British fleet and nation.” Late in 1802 the right of deposit at New Orleans, granted to Americans by the Pinckney treaty of 1795, was withdrawn by the Spanish intendant (Louisiana was still under Spanish control). Although Spain soon restored the right of deposit, the acquisition of New Orleans became of paramount national interest.


Negotiations and Purchase
Jefferson instructed Livingston to attempt to purchase the “Isle of Orleans” (i.e., New Orleans) and West Florida from France. He appointed James Monroe minister extraordinary and plenipotentiary to serve with Livingston. Congress granted the envoys $2 million to secure their object.

The international situation favored the American diplomats. Louisiana was of diminishing importance to France. The costly revolt in Haiti forced the French emperor Napoleon I to reconsider his plan to make Hispaniola the keystone of his colonial empire, and impending war with Great Britain made him question the feasibility of holding Louisiana against that great naval power. He decided to sell Louisiana to the United States.

On Apr. 11, 1803, the French foreign minister Charles Maurice de Talleyrand opened negotiations by asking the surprised Livingston what the United States would give for all of Louisiana. Bargaining began in earnest the next day, on Monroe's arrival in Paris. On Apr. 29, the U.S. envoys agreed to pay a total of $15 million to France; about $3,750,000 of this sum covered claims of U.S. citizens against France, which the U.S. government agreed to discharge. The treaty, dated Apr. 30, 1803, was signed several days later. Jefferson's scruples about the constitutionality of the purchase were overcome by his fears that Napoleon might change his mind (as intimated in reports from Livingston) and by the overwhelming public approval of the Louisiana Purchase (although there was some objection from Federalists, especially in New England).

The treaty was ratified by the U.S. Senate in October, and the U.S. flag was raised over New Orleans on Dec. 20. The Louisiana Purchase, extending from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mts. and from the Gulf of Mexico to British North America, doubled the national domain, increasing it c.828,000 sq mi (c.2,144,500 sq km). The final boundaries of the territory were not settled for many years (see West Florida Controversy), since the 1803 treaty did not set the limits of the region.

Answer 5

I'm not sure where you heard that from but as a person who lives here it is anything but low price. Property is at a ridicules all time high. You can go to WWL TV.com and check out there forums on us. Also ask that question to them and I am sure that they will address this issue for you to you.

Answer 6

The French were spending more on securing the territory than it produced. The territory had no major exports at the time :-) When the US expressed interest in ownership- it was all ours!

Answer 7

If you've ever been to Louisiana you'll know why :o)

Answer 8

French were in debt and they were at war so they sold it cheap out of desperation.

Answer 9

I think it depends