What Are The Positive Effects Of The Louisiana Purchase

One of the most important factors that greatly shaped America’s development was when Jefferson swallowed his constitutional reservations and bought the vast Louisiana territory. The Louisiana Purchase changed and affected the formative United States in many ways. By adding the Louisiana Territory, Jefferson helped expand the wave of slavery. It also resulted in a wide debate on the nature of the Constitution and the pros and cons. But on the other hand the Louisiana purchase had positive effects such as discovering new beneficial resources and giving the United States a claim to the Oregon Country. Jefferson and other Republicans stated that the Louisiana Purchase would be “favorable to the immediate interests of our Western citizens” and would promote “the peace and security of the nation in general” They continued talking up the purchase by showing how removing French power from the region and making a protective buffer area separating the United States from the rest of the world would be very beneficial. Jefferson stated that the new territory would become a haven for free blacks and help diminish racial tensions along the Atlantic seaboard. But the opposite happened. New England Federalists, believed that land would be settled by southern slaveholders who were Republicans and they
U.S. officials took formal possession of the Louisiana Territory. Lewis and Clark set out to explore the unknown region, discovering natural resources and information beneficial to the United States. The explorers’ reported of friendly Indians and abundant beaver pelts, which quickly attracted traders and trappers to the region. Their exploration also gave United States a claim to the Oregon Country by right of discovery and exploration. As we can see there were both good and bad effects on the United States from the Louisiana Purchase. But overall it helped shape our country and get us where we are