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The Louisiana Purchase: Would You Close the Deal? (What Would You Do? (Enslow))

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Before the Louisiana Purchase the United States consisted only of the "land east of the Mississippi River." Americans were looking toward expansion, but with Spain's hold on the lands to the west of the river, it was impossible. King Louis XV had given his cousin King Charles III of Spain this territory as a "thank you" gift and he wasn't about to let go of it. The port of New Orleans was crucial to trade and in 1795 the Treaty of San Lorenzo, or Pinckney's Treaty allowed settlers to use it. Later, the "uneasy" Spaniards, violated the treaty and closed the port in 1798. Trouble was brewing.

The settlers felt abandoned and angry. Even their complaints via mail took "weeks or even months" to reach the east and their president. In the meantime, Napoleon, a man who craved power, "had his eye on Spain's land in America." Spain's Queen Maria Louisa "thought the land in America was just a big swamp" and was more than happy when it was exchanged with France for a bit of the more classy Italy. In 1801, president Thomas Jefferson sent Robert Livingston, a man who "spoke little French" and "did not hear well," to negotiate a trade or an outright sale.

All offers were rejected and Napoleon stepped up his efforts to lord over the territory. He was going to send General Claude Victor Perrin, but those plans did not come to pass. In the meantime, the Spaniards, who still ran New Orleans, took away the Americans' "right of deposit" in the port. They could no longer even "leave goods in New Orleans' warehouses." Something had to be done and done quickly. In 1803 Jefferson sent James Monroe to France to work with Livingston. You'll learn how an unfortunate turn of events changed Napoleon's mind and how Monroe came away with one of the biggest deals in history!

This book, one in a series of six "What Would You Do," gives the reader a fascinating glimpse of American history. It is concise, well written and kept me turning the pages. At the end of each chapter the question, "What would you do?" is asked of the reader, who is then given an option or options to consider. The next chapter tells the reader what actually happened. The book has numerous photographs, maps and art reproductions. In the back of the book there is a timeline, words to know (highlighted in bold print throughout the text), an index, and additional recommended book and internet resources. Are you now living in one of the states acquired in the Louisiana Purchase? You can check out the map in this book to find out!