Nebraska State Historical Society
Title
History of Sarpy County
Document Type
Article
Date of this Version
January 1887
At the time that Napoleon was first consul of France, the French
possessions in North America were exposed to the maritime power of
Great Britain, with whom France was at war, and were really a source
of weakness to the mother country from their remote situation and
their liability at any moment to fall into the hands of the enemy.
In this emergency Napoleon resolved to abandon his cherished notion
of colonial dependencies, which could not be protected, and entered
into negotiations with the United States for their relinquishment.
In 1803 a treaty was consummated between the two countries, which
secured the whole of this vast territory for the sum of $15,000,000.
The Louisiana purchase (although unauthorized by the Constitution)
is an imperishable memorial of the wisdom of Jefferson's administration.
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Comments
Published in TRANSACTIONS AND REPORTS OF THE NEBRASKA HISTORICAL SOCIETY, vol. 2 (Lincoln, NE, 1887).