THE VIRGINIA DYNASTY 1801 1825
THOMAS JEFFERSONS PRESIDENCY LOUISIANA PURCHASE LEWIS CLARK AND MORE
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Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
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He was afraid he could not convince the Senate to ratify the treaty.
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The Constitution didn’t clearly give the president power to do it.
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While the U.S. would benefit from this, his home state of Virginia would suffer.
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He thought he was paying too much for the land.
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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 also worried about the constitutionality of the acquisition, for the Constitution did not specifically grant the federal government the authority to acquire more territory, and he considered an amendment to the Constitution. But Napoleon was becoming impatient and threatened to void the treaty.
Detailed explanation-3: -Thomas Jefferson had always feared the costs of loose construction of the powers delegated to the national government in the Constitution, and the Constitution was silent about acquiring lands from other countries.
Detailed explanation-4: -Why was Jefferson’s authorization of the LA purchase controversial? It was deemed controversial because Jefferson was a strict constructionist of the Constitution and the Constitution does not explicitly state that the president or Congress could purchase foreign land. Many thought he was being a hypocrite.