Question

why did president jefferson ask the american minster in paris to negotiate with napoleon bonaparte over the lousinana territory

Answer 1

At the time Jefferson was in limbo over whether or not the president had the power to buy land from foreign countries. However after the negotiations he saw that the amount of land proposed was well worth the possible overstepping of his role. He also in the beginning only wanted New Orleans however Napoleon offered to sell it all because he needed funding for his war with Europe.