Answer:
D) to ensure that Americans could use the Mississippi River and access the port of New Orleans
Explanation:
One of Jefferson's initiatives doubled the country's territory. At the end of the Seven Years' War, France ceded to Spain the territory west of the Mississippi River, including the port of New Orleans near its mouth which is indispensable for the disposal of products from the Ohio and Mississippi valleys. Shortly after Jefferson's inauguration, Napoleon forced the weakened government of Spain to give back to France the great territory called Louisiana. This step filled the Americans with apprehension and indignation. Napoleon's plans to create a massive colonial empire in the western United States threatened the commercial rights and security of all American settlements in the interior. Jefferson asserted that if France were to take possession of Louisiana, "from that moment forward, we will have to join the navy and the British nation"
Napoleon, aware that a new war with Britain was imminent, resolved to fill his coffers and put Louisiana out of reach of the British, selling the territory to the United States. This situation put Jefferson in a constitutional dilemma: the Constitution did not grant to any of the powers the right to acquire territory. Initially Jefferson thought of amending the constitution, but his advisers dissuaded him, claiming that the delay could lead Napoleon to change his mind and that the power to buy territory was inherent in the power to sign treaties. Jefferson ended up yielding, saying that "the common sense of our country will correct the evils of a loose construction, when it generates negative effects"
The United States acquired, for US $ 15 million, in 1803, the "Territory of Louisiana". It had more than 2,600,000 square kilometers and included the port of New Orleans. The nation gained a vast expanse of fertile plains, mountains, forests, and river systems that, within 80 years, would become the heart of the nation - and one of the largest granaries in the world.
