James Monroe Went Broke For The Louisiana Purchase

He had to beg the government to pay off his debts.

Portrait of James Monroe, The White House Historical Association — From Samuel Morse, Public Domain

“All eyes, all hopes, are now fixed on you, . . . for on the event of this mission depends the future destinies of this republic,” Thomas Jefferson told James Monroe about the Louisiana Purchase.

My history teachers taught me that the Louisiana Purchase, in which America bought Louisana’s whole territory from France for 15 million dollars, was one of the greatest steals in U.S. history. According to historian Michael Burgan in The Louisiana Purchase, the territory was bought for less than three cents per acre. The whole region would span 830,000 square miles and encompass 15 states today. The $15 million is equal to $344 million today.

Jefferson wanted nothing more than to acquire territory in the Mississippi River. After all, Napoleon was in charge of France and posed a massive military danger to the United States.

In 1803, Thomas Jefferson’s main envoy for the Louisiana Purchase was his Minister to France, Robert R. Livingston. But what few people know is that after he sent Livingston to negotiate with Napoleon’s regime, he also sent James Monroe, expecting a possible armed conflict.

According to Scott Bomboy of the National Constitution Center, Jefferson authorized…