When Thomas Jefferson
agreed to buy the territory of Louisiana, he wanted to do it
constitutionally, so he wanted to make an amendment to the Constitution
first, but the congress did not pay attention to his plans to amend the
constitution, and the purchase was made in 1803 but without the legality that it required. For
Jefferson's strong values, acquiring territories was a very serious
matter, and although it was vital for the USA to purchase Louisiana, as
Jefferson expressed it, the Constitution did not give the government
powers to buy and maintain territories. But
perhaps compromising its principles for the purchase of Louisiana, was
something that in 1810 the same Jefferson described as a great
achievement and a success, the risk for a great common good to the
nation.
