You will be asked to analyze the moral dilemma presented by Thomas Jefferson’s decision to purchase Louisiana from the French government in 1803. As you should know from the book and lectures for this course, Jefferson believed strongly in a strict interpretation of the US Constitution. He argued strongly against Alexander Hamilton and his loose interpretation of the Constitution. When presented with the opportunity to purchase all of the Louisiana Territory from France (a region spreading from present-day Louisiana up to Canada, and the Mississippi over to the Rockies), he agreed to the deal. However, he soon felt qualms of moral guilt. Where did it specifically say in the Constitution that the President or Congress could add new territory to the United States? Where did it say 50,000 people in Louisiana could instantly be made citizens? Where did it say the US government could go into debt to fund the purchase? These dilemmas (and perhaps more, for instance, nobody asked the Indians in the territory what they thought of the sale) are what you will write your essay on.