Page:Oregon, her history, her great men, her literature.djvu/40

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PRESIDENT THOMAS JEFFERSON

the Northwest Coast eastward by the overland route; to hasten the settlement of the Mississippi Valley by American pioneers and thus forestall the intrigues of the English and the French; to balk the advance of the Northwest Company in the region of the Upper Missouri and Columbia Rivers; to establish intimate commercial relations between the East and the developing West; and last, but by no means least, among the motives which actuated Jefferson, to satisfy his keen scientific curiosity and promote the science of geography." (Story of Oregon.)

Purchase of Louisiana, At the beginning of the year 1803, Jefferson began the execution of both these designs. He dispatched Monroe to France to negotiate with Napoleon for the purchase of New Orleans and West Florida, and he sent Congress the famous message which outlined the plan of the expedition to the Pacific. Congress received the message on January 18, 1803, and promptly voted the necessary funds. The negotiations with Napoleon succeeded beyond expectations. Busied with new combinations in European affairs, the great leader of France offered to sell the whole of Louisiana to the United States, hoping thus to upbuild a formidable military and commercial rival to England, his implacable foe. Jefferson leaped at the amazing opportunity, and with one stroke of his pen made America an imperial nation, and insured to democratic institutions the scepter of the world."—(The Story of Oregon.)