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Why did France sell the Louisiana Purchase to the United States

381 bytes added, 04:44, 24 May 2019
→‎France's ambitions fall apart
====France's ambitions fall apart====
[[File: |thumbnail|left|250px|Haitian Expedition]]
 
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.
Yellow Unfortunately for France, yellow fever decimated Napoleon's army of 30,000 troops in St. Domingue (Haiti) during its expedition. Similarly, British troops, ten years earlier, suffered a similar fate on the island and had casualty rates as high as 70%. France was utterly unprepared to deal with yellow fever. Additionally, war between France and England posed still a serious threat to French ambitions in North America. The deadly outbreak of yellow fever ultimately ended Napoleon 's North American dreams. He 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.
====Conclusion====
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