The recent attention and concern from the public regarding Louisiana’s impending cession to France has been noted. The citizenry hastily conjures up speculation which is then swiftly put away, with varying sentiments across the board. However, a consensus has emerged, voicing fears that such a cession may negatively impact our nation’s peace, business interests, and overall prosperity.
During the late 1790s and early 1800s, the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers were vital conduits of trade, instrumental in supporting the expansion of the nascent United States. By 1792, Kentucky had joined the newly established United States as its 15th state, followed by Tennessee in 1796, and Ohio in 1803. Even as these states joined the Union, the safety of their inhabitants remained a contentious issue.
Interestingly, the center of anxiety was the vast Louisiana territory, situated primarily to the west of the Mississippi River. Indeed, the North American continent during this period saw heightened activity from colonizing European powers including Great Britain, France, and Spain. Tensions often ran high and came to a head in 1754, over disagreements about the control of the area across the Appalachian Mountains, including the Ohio River region.
Soon enough, the Seven Years’ war broke out, becoming a global conflict with Great Britain and its allies on one side, and France, Spain, Austria, among other nations, on the opposite side. A few decades later, in 1775, increasing taxation and the deployment of standing armies led to the onset of the American War for Independence, also known as the American Revolutionary War.
In the wake of these conflicts, several treaties collectively referred to as the Peace of Paris were signed in 1783. These treaties solidified the United States’ independence, drew a boundary between the US and British Canada, and transferred British East and West Florida to Spanish control. At the same time, France was grappling with sizeable financial debts, the majority of which resulted from the costs associated with the American and Anglo-French Wars.
King Louis XVI of France, burdened by these debts, convened the Estates General in 1789, hoping to generate necessary funds. Meanwhile, the burgeoning Federalist Party began to harbor anxieties about potential repercussions in other regions. Starting 1792, French revolutionary forces waged wars against various European powers.
In response to this tumultuous situation, President Washington, in 1793, issued a Proclamation of Neutrality. While the world witnessed the battles of the Anglo-French War, predominantly as a naval conflict, unfolding across various spheres of influence, the French and Spanish however, made an unsuccessful attempt to invade Britain via the English Channel in 1779.
The year of 1778 saw France signing the Treaty of Amity and Commerce with the American colonies, symbolizing formal recognition of the United States as an independent entity. This significant move was quickly followed by the Treaty of Alliance, whereby France extended invaluable aid and assistance to the fledgling nation. More eventful than this though was France’s declaration of a fresh war against Britain, also in 1778, known as the Anglo-French War.
Fast forward to 1801, Napoleon dispatched his brother-in-law to Haiti with an assignment to reclaim the region from the control of Toussaint L’Ouverture. Although the French forces initially saw success, their subsequent attempts to reinstate slavery incited violent resistance, leading the French to withdraw their forces in 1803.
Presiding President Thomas Jefferson, cognizant of these troubling developments, recalibrated his standpoint towards the French regime, to better align with the apprehensions of the Anglo settlers residing along the Ohio and Mississippi River valleys. Regardless of objections from both Spain and the Federalists, the US Senate proceeded to endorse the Louisiana Purchase on October 17, 1803.
US commissioners, William C. C. Claiborne and James Wilkinson, formalized the transfer on December 20 of the same year. Of remarkable scale, the Louisiana Purchase covered an approximate area of 828,000 square miles. Barely a few months prior, in February 1803, Ohio was declared the 17th state of the union, denoting a segment of the erstwhile Northwest Territory.
With these shifts in ownership and geographical boundaries, a promising pathway was charted for the comprehensive development of the Ohio and Mississippi watersheds. Undoubtedly, these acquisition and expansion strategies marked notable chapters in the growth narrative of the United States. Crucially, they also shaped the destiny of the regions and their inhabitants, setting the stage for a new epoch in their collective history.
The post Anxiety and Expansion: The Stake of Louisiana in the Hands of France appeared first on Real News Now.
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