Louisiana Purchase Treaty

Explanation and Analysis of the Document

The Louisiana Purchase Treaty actually consists of three documents. The first cedes the Louisiana territory to the United States. The other two are conventions (agreements), one for the payment of 60 million francs ($11,250,000) and the other for claims American citizens had made against France for 20 million francs ($3,750,000).

Article I of the treaty proper refers to the treaty by which France acquired Louisiana from Spain and confirms that France holds title to the territory. Article II specifies what property, other than the territory itself, is included in the agreement, while in Article III the United States affirms that the people living in the territory would become citizens of the United States. Articles IV and V bear on the actual transfer of the territory through the agents of France and the United States. In Article VI the United States agrees to abide by treaties that were signed by Spain and the region's Indian tribes.

Article VIII deals in some detail with shipping. It specifies that for a period of twelve years, French and Spanish ships carrying cargo from France, Spain, or their colonies would be allowed to put in at New Orleans without having to pay any additional duties on the cargo. Article VIII then reiterates that after twelve years ships from France or its colonies would be treated in the same way as ships from other nations. Article IX alludes to the conventions that are appended to the agreement.

The first of these conventions specifies the terms of payment. The United States did not simply write a check for $15 million. Rather, Article II lays out a payment plan whereby the United States would make payments for the Louisiana territory over a period of time at a specified rate of interest, while Article III establishes an exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the French franc. The second convention addresses in detail the issue of debts that France owes to the citizens of the United States. Part of the purchase price included the assumption of these debts. The articles of the convention examine the procedures that were to be used to verify claims made against France under the terms of the treaty.