The Louisiana Purchase
One major accomplishment by Thomas Jefferson is the Louisiana Purchase. The purchase itself was a result of Jefferson's strong ties with France, and helped the United States nearly double in size. However, the deal troubled Jefferson because he did not want to cross what was already outline int the Constitution. From the writings in the Constitution, Jefferson did not want to go outside the central government's powers (Brown). the The deal troubled Jefferson because he did not wish to overstep the central government's powers outlined by the Constitution. Jefferson was considered a strict constitutionalist, meaning if his presidential actions were not written in the Constitution then such actions were forbidden. He wanted to buy the territory from Napoleon, not only to increase the size on the United States, but to gain control of the Mississippi River (Brown). In the Constitution, there was no mention of the power to acquire new territory (Brown).
As president, Jefferson purchased the Louisianan territory but did not help terminate the wildfire spread of slavery into the so called "empire of liberty" (Finkelman). According to Paul Finkelman, of the New York Times, "Jefferson told his neighbor Edward Coles not to emancipate his own slaves because free blacks were 'pests in society'" (Finkelman). Therefore, they were as could be viewed as children because they could not take care of themselves properly (Finkelman). In a 10 year period, Jefferson sold 85 slaves in order to have the money to be able to purchase luxurious goods like wine and art (Finkelman). In Jefferson's mind, the act of intentionally and unintentionally destroying slave families did not even bother him. It did not bother him because Thomas Jefferson truly thought that all African Americans did not have basic human emotions (Finkelman).
As president, Jefferson purchased the Louisianan territory but did not help terminate the wildfire spread of slavery into the so called "empire of liberty" (Finkelman). According to Paul Finkelman, of the New York Times, "Jefferson told his neighbor Edward Coles not to emancipate his own slaves because free blacks were 'pests in society'" (Finkelman). Therefore, they were as could be viewed as children because they could not take care of themselves properly (Finkelman). In a 10 year period, Jefferson sold 85 slaves in order to have the money to be able to purchase luxurious goods like wine and art (Finkelman). In Jefferson's mind, the act of intentionally and unintentionally destroying slave families did not even bother him. It did not bother him because Thomas Jefferson truly thought that all African Americans did not have basic human emotions (Finkelman).
For a man that did not wish to overstep the central government's powered outlined by the Constitution, why did he continue with the purchase of the Louisiana territory?