History's View of the Louisiana Purchase

History softens a lot of harsh edges, and the opposition to the Louisiana Purchase faded over the years. Much of the country approved of the Louisiana Purchase because they had the opportunity to buy cheap land, and the expansion increased pride in the young country. "A nation that once may have been resigned to sharing the Mississippi with a foreign neighbor now embraced the Pacific Coast as its 'Manifest Destiny'" (Kukla). And Americans were happy to have complete control of the strategic port of New Orleans, which gave them control of Mississippi to transport their products to European markets and beyond.

And beyond all of that, the Louisiana Purchase was significant historically because it was one of the first times such a huge piece of land wasn't fought over to win. The United States. peaceably negotiated with France for the land, which was still under Spanish control -- which wasn't too pleased with Napoleon for selling its land. There was concern that the transition wouldn't be smooth: Spanish/French/American relations at the time were strained due to trade disagreements and European wars, so there was no guarantee that the Spanish would transfer the territory peacefully to the French, considering they protested the deal as soon as it became public. But on Nov. 30, 1803, Spain peacefully authorized the transfer of Louisiana to the French. The French then transferred the lower portion of Louisiana territory to the United States on December 20, 1803, and three months later transferred the remaining land to the United States.

In the end, the Louisiana Purchase ended up being a boon to the young nation's economy and the additional land raised the United States' standing internationally. However, the inability to resolve the struggle for power and control of the Louisiana Purchase would be among the causes for the coming Civil War.

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