Amador ledger., 1900-09-07
EXPANDED AMERICA.
No. 8.
Jefferson's Greatest Gift to His Coun.
try-Louisiana.

Always patriot and most always
statesman, Thomas Jefferson, during his
long career, rendered many important
services to his country, but the 90 attest
of them all was the purchase of Lou
isiana
At the beginning of this century Spain
owned all of the continent west of the
Mississippi, New Orleans and the Flor
idas, cutting off from the ocean glowing
inland states which could ship none of
their productions to the markets of the
world save by the grace of His Spanish
Majesty and generally under CALLING
restrictions; for i'll those days railroads
were not dreamed of, canals were in the
far distant future, and the commerce of
the Mississippi valley must reach the
markets of the world through the mouth
OF the Mississippi river or not at all,
So long as Spain retained the posses
sion of Louisiana there was hope that it
might be bought or wrested from her,
for she was already decrspit, but it
might be very different story if Lou
isiana fell into the hands of the insatiate
w
of this century.
In the faint hope of buying the island
of New Orleans, President Jefferson
caused negotiations to be opened with
Napoleon, and was astounded to find
that he could buy the whole of Louisiana
for $15,000,000. He jumped at the op-
portunity.
But there were obstacles in the way.
Jefferson believed that there was no
constitutional warrant for the purchase
and annexation of territory, but the sal
vation of the Mississippi valley depended
on it.
He had always been a strict construc-
Zionist of the constitution, the champion
of states rights and an opponent of CEN
tralization of power. 1t was to an oppo-
sition to what he declared to be the
monarchical tendencies of Washington
and Hamilton that he owed his political
ascendency. but the salvation of the
upper Mississippi valley depended upon
the free navigation of the Mississippi
river.
The opposition party, on the other
hand, had always favored a liberal con-
struction of constitutional powers, but
they hated jefferson. A narrow parti-
sanship made them oppose their own
policy because it chanced to be Jeffer-
sons policy, just as narrow partisan
ship on the part of Mr.. Bryan's party
now leads it to oppose the expansion
policy of Jefferson because it chances to
be the policy of President Mckinley and
his administration.
Although theorist of fine spun quail
ity, in all his writings, Thomas jefferson
was as a politician intensely pratical,
and used without scruple the means that
best suited his ends. His authority over
his party was as unquc cstioned as that of
Mr.. Bryan over his party. He was
political Caesar as Bryan is a political
Caesar. His orders to his followers in
Congress were, &C. Let the other side make
the speeches, but when the time comes,
vote" They voted as he babe them,
and Louisiana was purchased.
The Federalist party ragged about mil
itarism, the destruction of liberty, the
breaking down of free government by
taking in incongruous elements, etc.,
and then died. The people saw the wis.
dom of Jefferson's policy and his party
held undisputed sway for twenty years.
Jefferson believed that there was no
constitutional warrant for the purchase
of Louisiana, but he believed that there
was higher warrant than a constitu-
tional warrant, and that higher warrant
was the absolute need ON the part of the
interior of America to reach the worlds
commercial highway through the {" fa-
ther of waters" or, to use the expression
of Lincoln two generations later, "The
Mississippi must flow unvexed to the
sea-"
The Republican party has not in its
platform sanctioned the doctrine of pre-
eminence over the constitution of great
national necessity, but Thomas jefferson
did in his day, and in letter to Mr..
Monroe said; 1--WE must ratify the treaty
and pay our money, as we have treated
for a thing beyond the constitution and
rely ON the nation to sanction an act
done for its good without its previous
authority"
The Republican party leaves consti-
tutional questions, for decision, not to
the issue of a partisan campaign waged
against it by a heterogeneous host fused
together for Office only, but to the Su-
preme Court of the United States, where
such questions ought always to be left
for wise and unimpassioned adjudica.
ton.
Thomas jefferson bought Louisiana
not only without the consent of the
SO, 600 white people living in the acquired
territory, and without the consent of
the countless thousands of Indians liv.
ing therein. but against the hearty pro.
test of a considerable part of the white
population-ap protest so determined that
it prompted the Spanish people in par
ticular to sell out their holdings for
what they could get and emigrate to
Mexico rather than submit to the new
order of things. The man who wrote
that governments derive their Just
powers from the consent of the gov
erned" never asked these people for
their consent to be governed. He knew
that most of them were not competent
to consent. as the Fillpinos are not, but
if they had been ever so competent he
would not have permitted their consent
ing or not consenting to delay for a day
the consummation of q transaction
fraught with such tremendous conse.
quences as the opening of the Mississippi
river to the commerce of the world
Thomas Jefferson bought Louisiana