Thomas «Jeffersor By ELMO SCOTT WATSON NE hundred and thirty years ago the “biggest real estate deal in history” was closed In the city of New Or- leans. On December 20, 1808, a crowd gathered in the historic Place d’ Armes (now known as Jackson square). In the center was a tall flagpole at the top of which flut- tered the Tricolor of France, Drawn up along one side of the square was a detachment of United States army troops. Facing them on the other slde of the flagpole were Spanish troops and a few French officers. A few hours before, Plerre Clement Laussat, French prefect of Louisiana, Gen. James Wilkin. son of the United States army, and Willlam C. Claiborne, former governor of Mississippi Ter. ritory, had met in the famous old Cabildo, which faces on the square. There the credentials of the two Americans were read, as was the authority of the Frenchman to hand over to them official possession of a certain tract of land; the keys of the city of New Orleans were given to Claiborne and he, dissolving the allegiance of the inhabl- tants of New Orleans to France, welcomed them as citizens of the United States. Then the three men stepped out into the Place 4' Armies. At a signal the Tricolor of France began to descend and the Stars and Stripes of the United States to ascend. Midway on the flagstaff the two banners met and were saluted. And when the American flag had reached the top of the staff and the French ban. per the bottom, It meant that the Louisiana Ter. ritory had changed hands for the sixth and last time and was henceforth American soll Thus the fitting climax to this “biggest real estate deal in history” in which Napoleon Bona- parte, the First Consul of France, had sold to Thomas Jefferson, President of the United States, for $15,000000 a veritable empire of 1,171,031 square miles. It doubled the original area of the new Republic and gave to that Republic the land which In the future was to be the following states: Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, fowa, the part of Minnesota west of the Mississippi, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and most of Oklahoma, Kansas, Montana, Wyoming and a large part of Colorade. It extended our boun- daries from the Canadian border to the Gulf of Mexico and from the Rocky mountains to the Mississippi river, which henceforth was to be ours, freed forever from the menace of a foreign power holding one of our most important gate. ways to the sea—New Orleans, Like so many important events In American history, the Louisiana Purchase had its origins in European politics and intrigue. The Louis ana Territory had first been claimed for France by the explorer, La Salle, who In 1682 had taken possession of it In the name of Louis XIV. In 1712 the Grand Monarch had “farmed” Louisiana to Antoine Crozat, the greatest merchant monop- olist of his day, but Crozat, unable to make use of it, had turned it over five years later to John Law, the Scotch adventurer, whose bursted “Mls sissippl Bubble” had almost overnight trans formed him from a hero in France to the most hated man in that country. So In 1731 the Lou fsiana Territory went back to the French crown again and in 1762 Louis XV had ceded it to Spain, Spanish territory it had remained all the time the English colonles on the Atlantic seaboard were winning their freedom from Great Britain and taking their first faltering steps as a new nation. In the meantime stirring events had been taking place in France. The Bourbons had been dethroned, the horrors of the French Revolution had run thelr course and a new world figure had risen above the horizon—Napoleon Bonaparte, the First Consul of France, Within a year after, he had become virtually the master of Europe. He had crushed Austria and the states of the [tallan peninsula. Peace with England was in sight and six weeks after his victory at Marengo Napoleon sent a demand to Spain to cede Louisiana back to France. The main reason back of that demand was his de sire, along with his other plans to dominate the world, to rebuild the French commercial power in America and begin upon a policy of colonial expansion, The treaty by which Spain ceded louisiana back to France In 1802 was kept secret but soon after Thomas Jefferson became President in 1801 he suspected what was going on across the At lantie. French control of New Orleans and French domination of the Mississippi would have a serious meaning for the United States, espe clally to the settlers of Ohlo, Kentucky and Ten. nessee, As early as 1790 they were sending down the river 120,000 pounds of tobacco, 10.000 bar rels of flour, 22000 pounds of hemp, H00 har rels of cider and as many more of whisky for shipment abroad, €0 long as the Spanish were In control, this ance between American commercial Interests and the Spanish authorities, in general the Amer - 5 The Place d’Armes (NowJackson Square) in NewOrlea 3 5 A HY eans had not found the restrictions of the Span. lard oppressive. But with te urrozant Napoleon holding New Orleans, matters might be very dif- ferent indeed, Then Don Juan Ventura Morales, Spanish gov ernor of New Orleans, preparatory to turning the Louisiana Territory over to France, closed the port to the Americans and the western settlers looked upon this as prophetic of what Napoleon's policy of strangling American trade and check- ing farther American expansion was to be. What Jefferson thought of it Is reflected in the follow. ing letter to Robert Livingston, American min ister to France: “The cession of Louisiana and the Floridas by Spain to France works most sorely in the United States, There is on the globe one single spot, the possessor of which is our natural and habitual enemy. It is New Orleans, through which the produce of three-eighths of our terri- tory must pass to market, and from its fertility it will ere long yield more than half of our whole produce, and contain more than half of our In. habitants, Spain might have retained It quietly for years. , . Not so can it ever he in the hands of France. . . Every eye In the United States Is now fixed on the affairs of Louisiana” He then went on to Instruct Livingston and Robert Pinckney, American minister to Spain, to obtain West Florida from Spain and New Orleans from France. Congress was also fully aware of the necessity for action and it backed up Jeffer- son by appropriating on January 2, 1803, the sum of §2.000000 for the purchase of the desired territory, Jefferson also appointed James Mon. roe as minister extraordinary to Paris to ald Liv. ingston In the negotiations, In the meantime, however, events had been taking place in Europe, and also in America, which were destined to make Napoleon play squarely into Jefferson's hands, Although peace had been declared between France and England in 1802, Napoleon's belligerent attitude toward England was rapidly bringing about a state of mind which meant another war. Then, too, Na- poleon’s plan of colonial expansion was going none too well, The rebellion of Toussaint L'Over. ture In Santo Domingo had been crushed but at a fearful price and this made Napoleon realize the difficulties of carrying out his ambitions project for reestablishing French commercial domination In the New world, With war with Great Britaln Imminent Na. poleon knew that his problem was greatly in- creased, He was quick to see that England, mis tress of the seas, could easily seize and hold Louisiana. Livingston had not had much sue cons In his preliminary negotintions for the pur chase of New Orleans with two of Napoleon's ministers, Talleyrand and Marbola. But on Eas. ter Sunday, 1803, the Firgt Consul announced an astonishing decision to hls ministers, He would sell not only New Orleans but the whole Louisi- ana Territory to the United States! A day or two after this Monroe arrived In Paris and Talleyrand told the two American ministers of Napoleon's astonishing proposal. a Frm ¥ -y They could scarcely believe thelr ears when Tal leyrand told them of Napoleon's decision. They suspected a trick tut when Talleyrand con vinced them that the offer was sincere, they were more than willing to begin to talk terms. However, thelr negotiations dragged on for some time, complicated by the fact that Monroe was {ll and scarcely able to play his part In them, At last they bLegan to reach a basis for agreement, and the two American ministers, une able to communicate with thelr government be fore It should he too Iate, took upon themselves the great responsibility of accepting Marbols’ terms, On April 30. 1803. Marbols, Livingston and Monroe signed the covenants by which the Unit. ed States bound Itself to pay directly to France the sum of £11.250000 and to assume debts owed by France to American citizens, estimated at 83.750.000, making the total of $15,000,000, It is sald that after they had affixed their signa- tures, Livingston remarked, “We have lived long, but this is the noblest work of our lives, From this day the United States takes its rank among the powers of the earth ®™ The curious thing is that they could not real fze that they had bought something of “a pig In a poke” In that the boundaries of the Loulsiana Territory were not clearly defined so they had not the slightest notion of the vast extent of the territory which they had acquired for their conn. try. Neither could they realize that no other American purchasers of territory would ever ac quire so much for so little, for they got this vast domain for less than $15 a square mile. Within a hundred years $15 would not buy a square inch of some of that land! In other respects it was a strange transaction, Livingston and Monroe had far exceeded their authority in buying louisiana and, as a matter of fact, Napoleon had no right to sell it without the consent of Spain and his own assembly. Spain immediately made a protest that the sale was lllegal—a protest which she did not care to maintain too stoutly, considering the nature of the First Consul, Many Frenchmen were also bitter about the sale, Even In this country there was considerable criticism. Of conrse, the westerners were de lighted. But the Federalists in the East, recall ing how Jefferson had denounced Washington and Adams for using powers not expressly dele gated to the President In the Constitution, were aniek to denounce Jefferson for dolag the same thing. And the President, assuming responsi bility for what his envoys had done and dublous of the legality of the purchase, made the historie admission that he “had stretched his powers un. til they cracked.” : But In October congress ratified the covenants and the next month Laussat arrived In New Or leans to assume authority over that city and Louisiana Territory, preliminary to turning both over to their new owners. The Spanish flag came down and the French Tricolor took its place, to iy there for only 20 days, then to give way forever to the Stars and Stripes, © by Western Newspaper Union, NO AUTOCRATIC RULE IN RUSSIA Supreme Authority Vested in All-Union Congress. When President Roosevelt ad dressed the head of the Soviet gov. ernment, Inviting him to designate a representative to discuss matters affecting the two countries, the at. tention of Americans was drawn to the unique character of the govern. mental system which is centralized at Moscow. Few persons had heard of Michael 1. Kalinin, but it was commonly assumed that he was “President” of the Soviet republie. | His office is, In fact, that of chair man of the central executive com- mittee, which wields final authority when the all-union congress, the su preme organ of authority, Is not in session, The all-union congress Is composed | of about 2.000 members representing town and township soviets and prov- inefal councils, The congress meets | at least once every two years, Dur i Ing recess tg powers are exercised | by the central executive committee, | somposed of two chambers, the coun. | ell of the union (450 members) and | the council of nationalities (130 members), The committee works through a presidium of 27 members, | which exercises full authority when | the committee Is in recess, The cen. | tral executive commitice elects the | members of the people's council of | rommissars, which serves as the ex ecutive body of the Soviet union | answerable to. the central committee! and its presidium, The only legalized political or ganization In the Soviet union is the Communist party. 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