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→France's ambitions fall apart
Westerners became very apprehensive about having the more-powerful French in control of New Orleans: President Thomas Jefferson noted, “There is on the globe one single spot, the possessor of which is our natural and habitual enemy. It is New Orleans.” In addition to making military preparations for conflict in the Mississippi Valley, Jefferson sent James Monroe to join Robert Livingston in France to try to purchase New Orleans and West Florida for as much as $10 million. Failing that, they were to attempt to create a military alliance with England.
Meanwhile, the French Army in St. Domingue (Haiti) was being decimated by yellow fever, and war between France and England still threatenedposed a serious threat to French ambitions in North America. Napoleon decided to give up his plans for Louisiana and offered a surprised Monroe and Livingston the entire territory of Louisiana for $15 million. Although this far exceeded their instructions from President Jefferson, they agreed.
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