Jefferson's Bold Move

Thomas Jefferson made a many courageous decisions during his time as President of the United States. One of his most famous is the Louisiana Purchase made in 1803. This additional land helped secure the idea of America’s potential expansion and agricultural future. The land was bought for a measly $15 million from France, helping ensure the United States would have access to the Mississippi River as a hub for commerce and trade between states in the US, and the rest of the world, as the country continued to expand. The decision to purchase the land was not made solely from an expansionist stand point, but also from fear having two powerful neighbors, Spain and France.  There were two key effects of the Louisiana Purchase for Jefferson; one political and one horticultural.

                Politically, the Louisiana Purchase was a crucial part of Jefferson’s presidency because it went directly against many of his principles as an anti-federalist. Jefferson did not believe that there should be a strong central government acting without the consent of the people, but rather advocated for the rights of the states to make their own decisions. The Louisiana Purchase directly contradicted this fundamental principle and went against his usual philosophy of strict constitutionalism. Jefferson still made the decision to purchase the land with all of this in mind, proving to be the intrepid mind we associate with him today.         

The Louisiana Purchase also provided many new opportunities in horticulture, one of Jefferson’s favorite hobbies. He sent Lewis and Clark on an exploration of the new lands to learn as much as possible about the flora and fauna they held. Jefferson was particularly curious about the plants and animals they encountered along the way, and asked them to send back specimens that they collected during their travels. In this way, Jefferson was able to begin growing many plants at his home at Monticello that were not previously available. Jefferson was also able to use this a horticultural experiment, growing plants in different soil and sunlight or providing different amounts of water to the plants in order to most accurately recreate the situation in which the plants were naturally grown in the new lands made available the Louisiana Purchase.

The Chokecherry, one of the plants Lewis and Clark found during their travels

                Overall, the Louisiana Purchase proved to be an incredibly brave move by Jefferson. There were no indications at the time that the land was going to be prosperous or helpful to the country, but Jefferson saw the potential. In the end, most Americans were pleased with his decision to purchase the territory as it helped double the amount of land for the United States offering new places to expand in agriculture, improve trade and commerce through the port of New Orleans and the use of the Mississippi River, and helped rid the threat the French posed as a neighbor.