I know it's a peculiar question, but it's been bugging me fore months. The 200th anniversary of the Louisiana purchase brought it to mind and I'm a bit of a Bonapartist. I haven't found anyone yet who can give me an answer to the question. The rundown: Britain is at war with an upstart Corsican who has managed to rule France. Britain had stayed out of the Continental war until the Berlin and Milan decrees (Napolean declares the continent is now closed to all English vessels). This pisses them off. They're shorthanded sailors now that they have to ready themselves for war. Solution? Impress American sailors into British service. Meanwhile: Americans were experiencing a booming economy as wartorn Europe was in desperate need of supplies (flour, salt, coal, iron, timber, etc.). Taking George Washington's advice, the US stays out of the war and reaps all the financial benefits. Napolean's getting kind of hard up for cash from waging his battles, so after acquiring many Spanish possessions in the New World, he decides to sell the Louisiana territory to the US. US happily complies and gets the goods. Sheer ecstasy. More lands. More resources. Era of good feelings. But, Britain has continued to impress American soldiers and board American vessels caught near the European continent. US declares war on Britain. You'd think that this would make us allies with the French, n'est-ce pas? But there had been an unspoken war between France and the US (not unlike the cold war with the Soviets). Since we refused to support them during the French Revolution even though they had helped us during our little bout with the British, and because our imperial designs were conflicting, and because we sunk a couple of their best warships just for kicks, the French people were ready to bruller our derriers. But Napolean wasn't about to declare war on the US when it was an ocean away. There were richer prizes to claim in Europe. So we were allies with France in that we had the same enemies, got land from them, and the French made us rich. But we were allies with the British in the way that we despised Napolean's imperialist tactics and nasty habit of grabbing up all the trading partners from Spain to Poland. You can't say we stayed out of the war, Britain attacked us because we traded with France, and we them because they stole our sailors to continue trade despite war. So whose side were we on? And if you think that question is tough, why do orchestras in the US play the 1812 overture on Independence Day? Don't get me started.
Seems To Me... We were on neither side, because ultimately we opposed the goals of both. The Louisiana Purchase doubled the size of the USA with the stroke of a pen. What ultimate difference who sold it to us? Certainly Napoleon must have benefited from the funds provided by the sale, but he was - in the end - defeated by a coalition of European nations. The Old World settled this one among themselves without American forces landing in the Continent. The war with Britain was necessary to illustrate to the British that America was not to be triifled with, and illustrated the growing strength and skill of the American Navy - essential then as now to a world power. The fact that it weakened Britain's capacity to oppose Napoleon was merely a side-effect. In the end, the winner is America, because Napoleon was crushed, along with France's preeminence as a European power, Britain drained to whatever degree by conflicts in Europe and America, Russia lessened by the creation of Poland, and the Continent scarred by war. America has emerged as a stronger power, beginning to engage in power projection through naval force, repelling yet another British invasion, and securing a vast territorial gain which would ultimately open the way for the aquisition of all other US territory save perhaps Alaska & Hawaii. BlingBlingPlease Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Who da man? 'Merica!
