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VOICE ONE:
This is Phoebe Zimmerman.
VOICE TWO:
And this is Steve Ember with theVOA Special English program EXPLORATIONS. Today we tell about theFrench Emperor Napoleon’s sale of a huge amount of land to AmericanPresident Thomas Jefferson. We explain the famous sale and tellabout some of the celebrations planned for the two-hundredthanniversary of the Louisiana Purchase.
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VOICE ONE:
Our story begins around eighteen-hundred in the southern city ofNew Orleans. New Orleans is a huge natural port. The greatMississippi River moves past New Orleans to the sea. Boats tookwood, fur, wheat, corn, cattle and other goods and products from farup the Mississippi down the river for sale and transport. NewOrleans was a busy place where businesses earned good profits.
Spain owned New Orleans and a huge area of land known asLouisiana. In eighteen-hundred, Spain gave the land to France in asecret treaty. But Spain continued to govern the area. Spain hadgiven American businessmen permission to use the port of New Orleansand its storage buildings to store goods for export. However, ineighteen-oh-two, the Spanish government withdrew that permission.
VOICE TWO:
The Spanish government soon restored permission for Americans touse the port. However, this event caused a great deal of concern tomany Americans. One of the people most concerned was the Presidentof the United States, Thomas Jefferson. President Jefferson knewthat whichever country controlled New Orleans could control thefuture of business on the Mississippi. The Mississippi River wasextremely important to the young United States. The Mississippimeant jobs, business, and new settlements.
VOICE ONE:
In France at this same time, the Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte wasplanning to extend his control in the Caribbean and in the Louisianaterritory. President Jefferson did not want Napoleon ruling land inNorth America. He felt the French presence was a threat to peace inthe United States. He quickly decided to send special diplomats toFrance. Their job was to ask Napoleon if he would be willing to sellthe city of New Orleans and nearby French territory.
President Jefferson chose James Monroe as a special negotiatoramong the diplomats. Before sailing, Monroe met with the Presidentand Secretary of State James Madison. They discussed several plansin an effort to make a deal with the French Emperor.
President Jefferson told James Monroe to ask for a treatypermitting American ships and business to freely use the port ifNapoleon refused to sell New Orleans or any French territory.
VOICE TWO:
Napoleon’s plans for the Caribbean and Louisiana were changing.His troops had suffered a defeat on the French island colony nowknown as Haiti. The French troops were forced to sail home. Napoleondecided that it was no longer a good idea to invade the island againor place troops in his American territory. It would be too costly,and he needed his troops in Europe. Napoleon quickly lost interestin expanding French colonies in the Americas.
When James Monroe arrived in Paris, he never even had a chance tooffer the American position. Napoleon had decided to sell everythingto the Americans. He told his finance minister to give up Louisiana– all of it. Napoleon needed money for a war with Britain. Heoffered to sell the Louisiana territory for fifteen-million dollars.The Americans agreed. Both sides agreed to the sale on Aprilthirtieth, eighteen-oh-three.
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VOICE ONE:
An old story is told about Napoleon’s decision to sell Louisiana.We do not know if the story is true but we will repeat it anyway.
Napoleon was sitting in his bathtub, talking with his brothers.They argued strongly against the sale. One brother said the landwould make the United States too powerful. Another brother saidFrance could use the land in the future. The men argued. Napoleonbecame angry and threw some of his bath water at his brothers. Hesaid the question was settled. The land would be sold.
VOICE TWO:
Napoleon’s brothers may have been right. The price offifteen-million dollars may seem like a lot of money. However, it isnot a lot of money if you look at a map and see what FrenchLouisiana was. It was much more than just the port city of NewOrleans. It was more than two-million-one-hundred-thousand squarekilometers of land. At fifteen-million dollars, the United Statespaid only a few cents for each hectare of land.
The Louisiana Purchase included all the land west of theMississippi River to the Rocky Mountains, and from the Gulf ofMexico to Canada. The sale increased the size of the United Statesby two times. Today, this area includes all or part of fifteenAmerican states.
They are Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, NorthDakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Kansas,Montana, Wyoming and Colorado.
VOICE ONE:
At first, President Jefferson thought Congress might have tochange the United States Constitution to make the Louisiana Purchaselegal. However the sale was so popular that this idea was soonforgotten. The United States Congress met on October seventeenth,eighteen-oh-three. Only a few members opposed the sale. The Senateapproved the sale treaty by a vote of twenty-four to seven.
American and French diplomats signed the first sale documents inthe city of New Orleans in December, eighteen-oh-three. On this datethe United States took control of what was called the lower part ofthe Louisiana Purchase. Diplomats signed the documents in a buildingcalled the Cabildo. They signed the documents in a room called the”Sala Capitular.” It is still a popular place to visit today.History experts have made the room look much like it did the day thefamous event took place.
Diplomats signed the documents giving the United States controlof the upper Louisiana Purchase in March, eighteen-oh-four. Thatceremony took place in the city of Saint Louis in what became thestate of Missouri.
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VOICE TWO:
Louisiana and other states have begun celebrating thetwo-hundredth anniversary of the Louisiana Purchase. Louisiana plansyearlong celebrations. They include special exhibits, events,theater performances, films, dancing and a musical event called “TheLouisiana Purchase Opera.” It will be performed in New Orleans inOctober.
Many other cities that were built on land that was part of theagreement are also celebrating the Louisiana Purchase. In the oldLouisiana state capitol building in Baton Rouge is a special displayof many of the documents that were signed as part of the LouisianaPurchase treaty. One is signed by James Monroe who led the Americandelegation to France. He later became America’ s fifth president.
VOICE ONE:
One of the largest celebrations will take place in the city ofSaint Louis, Missouri. Saint Louis is also one of the many citiescelebrating the two-hundredth anniversary of the famous Lewis andClark exploration of the West.
Meriwether Lewis and William Clark and their group began theirexploration from Saint Louis. The documents of the LouisianaPurchase were signed only three months before their famous tripbegan. They traveled through much of the land that was part of theLouisiana Purchase.
Saint Louis will hold an event called the “Three Flags Ceremony”on March fourteenth, two-thousand-four. The ceremony honors theflags of the United States, France and Spain. The ceremony willcelebrate the signing of the documents giving the United Statescontrol of the upper part of the Louisiana Purchase.
President George Bush, French President Jacques Chirac and KingJuan Carlos of Spain will be invited to the ceremony. Militarybands, exhibits, and Native American arts, music and dancers will beincluded in the celebration.
VOICE TWO:
Experts say the Louisiana Purchase was one of the most importantland sales in history. Experts also say it was one of the mostimportant events to take place in the history of the young UnitedStates. That sale helped the small United States to grow into thelarge and powerful nation that it is today.
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VOICE ONE:
This program was written by Paul Thompson. It was produced byCaty Weaver. This is Phoebe Zimmerman.
VOICE TWO:
And this is Steve Ember. Join us again next week for anotherEXPLORATIONS program in Special English on the Voice of America.