147k views
5 votes
Why did President Jefferson send government officials James Monroe and Robert Livingston overseas in 1803?

User Khriz
by
8.9k points

2 Answers

5 votes
President Thomas Jefferson sent secretary Robert R. Livingston and James Monroe to France to negotiate the purchase of Louisiana with Napoleon Bonaparte (Emperor Napoleon).
User Bisgardo
by
8.5k points
3 votes

The correct answer is Monroe and Livingston were sent overseas in order to buy Louisiana from Napoleon.

The purchase of Louisiana from the French resulted in the United States doubling in size. This purchase allowed the United States to gain 800,000 square miles. This would ultimately make 13 different US states and would help to expand Jefferson's idea of the United States becoming a nation of independent, self-sufficient farmers.

User Pegasuspect
by
8.0k points