CHAPTER I

EVENTS LEADING TO THE PURCHASE

The early years of the nineteenth century were crucial ones for the new government of the United States. The "critical period" under the Articles of Confederation had led to the demand for a more effective plan of government, and the Constitution was the result. The ratification of this instrument was, however, but the beginning of another period of experiment; or better, perhaps, another chapter in the history of the old experiment. The danger of disunion and consequent disintegration had become apparent to all thinking citizens of the young nation. Such dangers must in future be avoided or independence threatened to become a curse rather than a blessing. Did the Constitution offer the solution of these perplexing problems? It was a well known fact that the Constitution was the result of compromises and that it had been ratified by the people in the states only after a long campaign and in the face of strong opposition. The Constitution had merely laid down a framework of government; a framework which had to be elaborated into a working system. The powers of the Federal Government must be made strong enough to meet the needs of the country as a whole, but could this be done without infringing upon the constitutional rights claimed by the states? What were the rights of the "original partners" to the compact? Could their relative importance in the councils of state be altered without their consent, given by their legislatures or by conventions called for that purpose?

Only fourteen years after the ratification of the Constitution a tremendous new problem was thrust upon the infant government for settlement. This was the acquisition of Louisiana, a vast, undeveloped, foreign country, equal in size to the entire

United States of that day. What would be its effect on the destinies of the Republic?

Undoubtedly the purchase of Louisiana was one of the most momentous steps in the history of our country. In its broader aspects, viewed from the present time, it insured to the American people the opportunity of westward expansion, and through the ownership of a vast public domain helped in the upbuilding of a broader national feeling and occasioned the downfall of the policy of strict construction of the Constitution.1 In its own day the acquisition, after the establishment of independence and the Constitution, was hailed as "the greatest political blessing ever conferred on these states.''2

Yet the purchase of Louisiana incidentally raised many constitutional points, the settlement of which has been of the utmost significance in the constitutional history of the United States. In the words of Professor Frederick J. Turner: "When the whole sweep of American history and the present tendencies of our life are taken into view, it would be possible to argue that the doctrines of the Louisiana Purchase were farther-reaching in their effect upon the Constitution than even the measures of Alexander Hamilton or the decisions of John Marshall.''3 To this strong statement may be added that of a well known expositor of the Constitution, who asserts that the purchase of Louisiana from France "gave such direction to the subsequent thought of the people and led to such marshaling of political forces, that nearly all the leading events of later American history were either traceable to or in some measure shaped or determined by it."4

1 Turner, "Significance of the Frontier in American History," in American Historical Association, Annual Report, 1903, 218.

2 David Ramsay, An Oration on the Cession of Louisiana to the United States,... May 12, 1804,... Charleston, S. C.

3 Turner, "Significance of the Louisiana Purchase," in Review of Reviews, XXVII, 584.

4 Cooley, "The Acquisition of Louisiana," in Indiana Historical Society, Publications, II, 65.

What did the men who helped to frame the Constitution think of the questions involved in the acquisition and government of Louisiana? What interpretation of that instrument was made by members of Congress when the question of the right to acquire and govern foreign territory came before them? The writings of the statesmen concerned, and the debates in Congress show the great interest displayed in the problems which arose; and the settlement of these problems has served as the basis for similar decision in later cases. Details might vary, but in the broader aspects of constitutional interpretation arising from the acquisition of foreign territory by the United States, the Louisiana Purchase served as the great precedent.

The events leading to the purchase of Louisiana may be treated briefly. The necessity for the control of a place of deposit for merchandise on the lower Mississippi had been recognized by a large part of the people of the United States. A widespread alarm was therefore aroused when, through the cession of the Louisiana territory by Spain to France, a stronger power came into contact with the United States in that region. President Jefferson in his second annual message to Congress, December 15, 1802, declared: "The cession of the Spanish Province of Louisiana to France, which took place in the course of the late war, will if carried into effect, make a change in the aspect of our foreign relations which will doubtless have just weight in any deliberation of the Legislature connected with that subject."'5

Upon the first rumors of such a transfer of Louisiana from Spain to France, Secretary of State Madison had written to Robert R. Livingston, United States minister to France, asking him to find out whether or not these rumors were true; and if so, to ascertain whether France could not be induced to transfer the Floridas to the United States, provided they were included

5 Richardson, Messages and Papers of the Presidents, I, 343.

in the cession. At the very least, West Florida was to be obtained, if possible. If the Floridas were not included in the transfer, Livingston was to make every effort to obtain the consent of France and Spain to their cession to the United States. Should he learn that the Floridas were still in the hands of Spain, Livingston was to act in harmony with Charles Pinckney at Madrid in an attempt to procure them." Livingston immediately opened negotiations with the French Minister of Exterior Relations. Spain insisted that the Floridas were not included in the cession, while France held that they were. Livingston continued negotiations. In answer to a question from Joseph Bonaparte whether the United States would prefer the Floridas to Louisiana, Livingston replied that his Government had no wish to extend its boundary across the Mississippi. All that was sought was security, not extension of territory."

While these negotiations were being carried on under the direction of the President, Congress was not idle. On January 4, 1803, Roger Griswold of Connecticut read the part of the President's message of December 15 relating to the cession of Louisiana to the French and made the following motion:

Resolved, That the President of the United States be requested to direct the proper officer to lay before the House copies of such official documents as have been received by this Government, announcing the cession of Louisiana to France, together with a report explaining the stipulations, circumstances, and conditions, under which that province is to be delivered up; unless such documents and reports will, in the opinion of the President, divulge to the House particular transactions not proper at this time to be communicated.

Griswold stated that although he did not desire from the President papers that might be improper at the time, nevertheless

6 Madison to Livingston, September 28, 1801, in Annals of Congress, 7 Cong., 2 Sess. (1802-1803), Appendix, 1014–1016.

7 Ibid., 1022-1023.

8 Ibid., 1052.

9 Livingston to the President, October 28, 1802, in ibid., 1055.