USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -The ability to buy property from foreign governments was not among these powers listed the Constitution – a fact that his political opponents, the Federalists, were eager to point out to the President. Instead, Jefferson considered a constitutional amendment the only way to conclude the deal with France.

Detailed explanation-2: -Jefferson and his supporters in the Senate therefore devised an argument that the constitutional provision for governing a territory presupposed the right to acquire that territory. They had the votes to approve the treaty and appropriate the funds to pay for it. The Supreme Court later upheld their reasoning.

Detailed explanation-3: -When France offered to sell the Louisiana Territory to the United States in 1803, Jefferson wanted to seize the opportunity to double the size of the nation and to provide future generations with a seemingly inexhaustible supply of new farmland.