Glenn Beck

Ironically, it was the same type of implied powers argument that Alexander Hamilton made about the creation of the National Bank, which Jefferson and Madison so strongly opposed.

Jefferson was unconvinced.

He drafted a constitutional amendment.

He worried about state rights.

He worried about precedent.

He worried about the New England states already suspicious of Western expansion and how they might fracture over this.

Then a letter arrived from Livingston in August.

He warned that Napoleon might be getting cold feet.

He was about to crown himself emperor and giving away continents was not a very emperor-like thing to do.

Time was running out.

Jefferson, he abandoned the amendment idea.

The process would take too long and likely kill the deal.

Instead, he got busy persuading two-thirds of the Senate to approve the deal and the House to fund it.

In the House, John Randolph of Virginia tried blocking the funding, but his motion failed by two votes.

Finally, in the Senate, the treaty passed 24 to 7.

James Monroe, acting on his own initiative, had already arranged financing for the $2 million down payment through the banks in Britain and Holland.

It was an efficient move, even if he wasn't legally authorized to do it yet.

But the deal was official.

The Louisiana Territory, which included all or part of 15 present-day states, now officially belonged to the United States.

In November, the French flag in New Orleans came down and the stars and stripes were raised in its place.