| CHAPTER VI WYOMING UNDER VARIOUS JURISDICTIONS |
| CHAPTER VI THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE |
| La Salle's Claim to the Country Drained by the Mississippi—Controversy Over the Navigation of the Mississippi River—Treaty of Madrid—Napoleon and Talleyrand Secret Treaty of San Ildefonso—Retrocession of Louisiana to France—Sentiment in the United States—Jefferson's Diplomacy—Livingston and Monroe—Purchase of Louisiana—Full Text of the Treaty of Paris—Ceremony of Transfer—The Temporary Government—Division of the Province ... 84 |
| In the preceding chapter has been given some account of W'voming under different jurisdictions, and the reader may want to understand more fully how the territory now comprising the state came to be the property of the United States. To make this plain, it is necessary to give an account of one of the greatest diplomatic transactions in modern history. It will be remembered that under the claim of La Salle, in 1682, all the region drained by the Mississippi River and its numerous tributaries, which included practically all of Wyoming, became a French possession and remained so for eighty years. At the close of the French and Indian war in 1762 France lost every foot of land she possessed in the New World, Canada and that part of Louisiana lying east of the Mississippi passing into the hands of England, and all her territory west of the Mississippi going to Spain. By the Treaty of September 3, 1783, which ended the Revolutionary war, the western boundary of the United States was fixed at the Mississippi River, though the mouth of that great stream was wholly within Spanish territory. It was not long until the new American Republic became involved in a controversy with the Spanish officials of Louisiana over the right to free navigation of the Mississippi. The final settlement of this question wnelded an unmistakable influence upon the present State of Wyoming. The river constituted the natural outlet for the products of a large part of the United States–a section which was rapidly increasing in wealth, population and political importance–but the Spanish authorities established posts along the river and every boat descending the stream was compelled to land at these posts and submit to arbitrary revenue duties. This policy was kept up for several years, to the humiliation of the United States trader and a diminution of his profits. Through the influence of Don :Manuel Godoy, one of the wisest of the Spanish statesmen of that day. the Treaty of Madrid was concluded on October 27, 1795, one article of which stipulated "That the Mississippi River, from its source to the gulf, for its entire width, shall be free to American trade and commerce, and the people of the United States shall be permitted, for three years, to use the Port of New Orleans as a port of deposit, without payment of duty." About that time the French Revolution brought into prominence two of the most noted characters in European history–Napoleon and Talleyrand. These two celebrated French diplomats and statesmen, feeling deeply the loss of their country's possessions in America, began to dream of rebuilding a colonial empire for France, one feature of which was to regain Louisiana. To that end negotiations were opened with the Spanish Government. Don Carlos IV was then king of Spain, but Channing says: "The actual rulers of Spain were Dona Alaria Luisa de Parma, his queen, and Don Manuel Godoy, el Principe de la Paz. which title writers of English habitually translate "Prince of Peace."" Godoy well knew he was not liked by Napoleon and Talleyrand, and when they began their overtures for the transfer of Louisiana back to France he resigned from the Spanish ministry, leaving the king without his most efficient adviser. Godoy and his objections being thus removed. Napoleon and Talleyrand offered in exchange for Louisiana "an Italian kingdom of at least one million inhabitants for the Duke of Parma, prince presumptive, who was at once son-in-law and nephew of the ruling monarchs." The offer was accepted, the State of Tuscany was chosen, and on October i, 1800, the secret Treaty of San Ildefonso was concluded. So well was the secret guarded that the exchange was not known in the United States until nearly eight months later. The Treaty of San Ildefonso was confirmed by the Treaty of Madrid, which was concluded on March 21, 1801, and a copy of which was sent to President Jefferson by Rufus King, then the United States minister to England. It reached Mr. Jefferson on May 26, 1801. Upon the receipt of the copy of the treaty, President Jefferson wrote to James Monroe: "There is considerable reason to apprehend that Spain cedes Louisiana and the Floridas to France. To my mind this policy is very unwise for both France and Spain, and very ominous to us." In August following Robert R. Livingston went to France as the United States minister to that country. Immediately upon his arrival in Paris he asked Talleyrand, then the French prime minister, if the Province of Louisiana had been retroceded to France. Talleyrand denied that such was the case, and in one sense he was justified in making the denial, as the Treaty of Madrid was not signed by the Spanish king until in October, 1802. For more than twelve months after President Jefferson received the copy of the Treaty of Madrid sent by Mr. King, his administration was kept in a state of uncertainty regarding the status of Louisiana and the navigation of the Mississippi River. On April 18, 1802, the President wrote a long letter to Mr. Livingston, in Paris, in which he said the American people were anxiously watching France's movements with regard to Louisiana, and set forth the situation as follows: 1. The natural feeling of the American people for the French nation was one of friendship. 2. Whatever nation held New Orleans and controlled the lower course of the Mississippi became the natural and habitual enemy of American progress, and therefore the enemy of the American people. 3. Spain had shown that she was well disposed toward the United States and as long as she remained in possession of those advantages the citizens of this country would be satisfied with conditions. 4. On the other hand, France possessed an energy and restlessness of character which would be the cause of constant friction between that country and the United States. He closed his letter by saying: "The day that France takes possession of New Orleans fixes the sentence which is to restrain her forever within her low water mark. It seals the union of two nations who in conjunction can maintain exclusive possession of the ocean. From that moment we must marry ourselves to the British fleet and nation. * * * The first cannon which shall be fired in Europe will be the signal for tearing up any settlement she may have made, and for holding the two continents of America in sequestration for the common purpose of the united British and American nations." Mr. Jefiferson did not desire an alliance with England, but greatly feared that the possession of Louisiana by France might drive the United States to adopt such a course. In November, 1802, news reached Washington that the Spanish authorities at New Orleans had suddenly and unexpectedly withdrawn the right of deposit at that port, as originally conceded by the treaty of Madrid. Immediately the country–particularly the new settlements in the Mississippi and Ohio valleys–was ablaze with indignation. The federalists, Jefferson's political opponents, used all possible means to force the administration into a policy that would give them a political advantage, but their ettorts in this direction proved futile. Says Channing: "Never in all his long and varied career did Jefferson's foxlike discretion stand him in better stead. Instead of following public clamor, he calmly formulated a policy and carried it through to a most successful termination." In his message to the Congress which assembled in December, 1802, the President said that the change in the ownership of Louisiana would necessarily make a change in our foreign relations, but did not intimate what the nature of the change was to be. On January 13, 1803, he wrote to Monroe that the federalists were trying to force the United States into war, in order to get into power. About the same time he wrote to Mr. Livingston that if France considered Louisiana indispensable to her interests, she might still be willing to cede to the United States the Island of Orleans, upon which stands the City of New Orleans, and the Floridas. Or, if unwilling to cede the island, she might be induced to grant the right of deposit at New Orleans and the free navigation of the Mississippi, as it had been under the Spanish regime, and instructed him to open negotiations to that end. A few days later, believing that the cession could probably be best accomplished by sending a man direct from the United States for that purpose, the President selected James Monroe to act as minister plenipotentiary, to cooperate with Mr. Livingston. The Senate promptly confirmed Mr. Monroe's nomination and placed the sum of $2,000,000 at the disposal of him and Mr. Livingston to pay for the island. It may be well to note, in this connection, that the success of Livingston and Monroe in their negotiations was doubtless aided in a great measure by a letter written by M. Pichon, the French minister to the United States, to Talleyrand. In this letter Pichon advised the French prime minister that the people of the United States were thoroughly aroused over the suspension of the right of deposit, and that the President might be forced by public opinion to yield to a British alliance. War between France and England had just been renewed, and Napoleon, realizing the superior strength of the British navy, saw that it would be a difficult matter to hold Louisiana in the face of an alliance between that nation and the United States. A force under General Victor was ready to start for New Orleans, but when Napoleon learned that an English fleet was lying in wait for its departure he countermanded the order for General Victor to sail. In the meantime Mr. Livingston had been trying to hasten the negotiations that would bring about the cession of the Island of Orleans and West Florida, believing that the Floridas were included in the Treaty of San Ildefonso. On April 11, 1803, Napoleon placed the entire matter of the cession of the island in the hands of the Marquis de Marbois, minister of the French treasury, and the same day Talleyrand startled Mr. Livingston by asking if the United States would not like to own the entire province of Louisiana. Livingston replied in the negative, but Talleyrand explained that Louisiana would be worth nothing to France without the City and Island of New Orleans, and insisted that Livingston should make an offer for the entire province. Another conference was held on the morning of the 12th, and that afternoon Monroe arrived in Paris. That evening a long consultation was held by the two American envoys, Mr. Livingston informing Mr. Monroe of all that had been done, and the result was it was decided that Mr. Livingston should conduct all further negotiations. Several days were then spent in discussing terms for the purchase of the whole territory of Louisiana, Marbois at first asking 125,000,000 francs for the province, though it was afterward learned that Napoleon had instructed him to accept 50,000,000 rather than to permit the deal to fail. The price finally agreed upon was 80,000,000 francs, of which 60,000,000 were to go directly to the French treasury and the remainder was to be used in settling the claims of American citizens against the French Government. The terms having been agreed upon, the next step was to embody them in a formal treaty. As this agreement gave to the United States a territory of nearly nine hundred thousand square miles, in which was included the greater part of the State of A\'yoming, it is here given in full. It is known as |
| THE TREATY OF PARIS |
| "The President of the United States of America and the First Consul of the French Republic, in the name of the French people, desiring to remove all sources of misunderstanding relative to objects of discussion mentioned in the second and fifth articles of the convention of the 8th Vendemaire, an 9 (30 September, 1800), relative to the rights claimed by the United States, in virtue of the treaty concluded at Madrid, the 27th of October, 1795, between his Catholic majesty and the said United States, and willing to strengthen the union and friendship which at the time of said convention was happily reestablished between two nations, have respectfully named their plenipotentiaries, to wit: The President of the United States of America, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate of said states, Robert R. Livingston, minister plenipotentiary of the United States, and James Monroe, minister plenipotentiary and envoy extraordinary' of the said states, near the Government of the French Republic; and the First Consul, in the name of the French people, the French citizen, Barbe Marbois, minister of the public treasury, who, after having respectfully exchanged their full powers, have agreed to the following articles: "Article I—Whereas, by the article the third of the treaty concluded at St. Ildefonso, the 9th Vendemaire an 9 (October i, 1800), between the First Consul of the French Republic and his Catholic majesty, it was agreed as follows: His Catholic majesty promises and engages on his part to retrocede to the French Republic, six months after the full and entire execution of the conditions and stipulations herein realtive to his royal highness, the duke of Parma, the colony or province of Louisiana, with the same extent that it now has in the hands of Spain, and that it had when France possessed it; and such as it should be after the treaties subsequently entered into between Spain and other states, and: "Whereas, in pursuance of the treaty, particularly of the third article, the French Republic has an incontestible title to the domain and possession of said territory; the First Consul of the French Republic, desiring to give to the United States a strong proof of his friendship, doth hereby cede to the United States, in the name of the French Republic, forever, in full sovereignty, the said territory, with all its rights and appurtenances, as fully and in the same manner as they have been acquired by the French Republic in virtue of the above mentioned treaty, concluded with his Catholic majesty. "Article II—In the cession made by the preceding article, are included the adjacent islands belonging to Louisiana, all public lots and squares, vacant lands, and all public buildings, fortifications, barracks, and other edifices which are not private property. The archives, papers and documents relative to the domain and sovereignty of Louisiana and its dependencies will be left in the possession of the commissioners of the United States, and copies will be afterward given in due form to the magistrates and municipal officers of such of said papers and documents as may be necessary to them. "Article III—The inhabitants of the ceded territory shall be incorporated in the Union of the United States and admitted as soon as possible, according to the principles of the Federal Constitution, to the enjoyment of all the rights, advantages and immunities of citizens of the United States; and in the meantime they shall be maintained and protected in the free enjoyment of their liberty, property and the religion which they profess. "Article IV—There shall be sent by the Government of France a commissary to Louisiana, to the end that he do every act necessary, as well to receive from the officers of his Catholic majesty the said country and its dependencies in the name of the French Republic, if it has not already been done, as to transmit it in the name of the French Republic to the commissary or agent of the United States. "Article V—Immediately after the ratification of the present treaty by the President of the United States, and in the case that of the First Consul shall have been previously obtained, the commissary of the French Republic shall remit all the military posts of New Orleans and other posts of the ceded territory, to the commissary or commissaries named by the President of the United States to take possession: the troops, whether of France or Spain, who may be there, shall cease to occupy any military posts from the time of taking possession, and shall be embarked as soon as possible, in the course of three months after the ratification of this treaty. "Article VI—The United States promises to execute such treaties and articles as may have been agreed between Spain and the tribes and nations of Indians, until Jjy mutual consent of the United States and the said tribes or nations, other suitable articles shall have been agreed upon. "Article VII—As it is reciprocally advantageous to the commerce of France and the United States to encourage the communication of both nations, for a limited time, in the country ceded by the present treaty, until general arrangements relative to the commerce of both nations may be agreed upon, it has been agreed between the contracting parties, that the French ships coming directly from France or any of her colonies, loaded only with the produce of France or her said colonies, and the ships of Spain coming directly from Spain or any of her colonies, loaded only with the produce or manufactures of Spain or her colonies, shall be admitted during the space of twelve years, in the ports of New Orleans, and all other ports of entry within the ceded territory, in the same manner as the ships of the United States coming directly from France or Spain, or any of their colonies, without being subject to any other or greater duty on merchandise, or other or greater tonnage than those paid by the citizens of the United States. "During the space of time above mentioned, no other nation shall have a right to the same privileges in the ports of the ceded territory; the twelve years shall commence three months after the exchange of ratifications, if it shall take place in France, or three months after it shall have been notified at Paris to the French Government, if it shall take place in the United States; it is, however, well understood, that the object of this article is to favor the manufacturers, commerce, freight and navigation of France and Spain, so far as relates to the importations that the French and Spanish shall make into the ports of the United States, without in any sort affecting the regulations that the United States may make concerning the exportation of the produce and merchandise of the United States, or any right they may have to make such regulations. "Article VIII—In future, and forever after the expiration of the twelve years, the ships of France shall be treated upon the footing of the most favored nations in the ports above mentioned. "Article IX—The particular convention signed this day by the respective ministers, having for its objects to provide for the payment of debts due to the citizens of the United States by the French Republic prior to the 30th day of September, 1800 (8th Vendemaire 9). is approved and to have its execution in the same manner as if it had been inserted in the present treaty, and it shall be ratified in the same form and at the same time, so that the one shall not be ratified distinct from the other. "Another particular convention signed at the same date as the present treaty, relative to a definite rule between the contracting parties, is in like manner approved and will be ratified in the same form and at the same time, and jointly. "Article X—The present treaty shall be ratified in good and due form, and the ratification shall be exchanged in the space of six months after the date of the signatures of the ministers plenipotentiary, or sooner if possible. In faith whereof, the respective plenipotentiaries have signed these articles in the French and English languages, declaring nevertheless that the present treaty was originally agreed to in the French language; and have thereunto set their seals. "Done at Paris, the tenth day of Floreal, in the eleventh year of the French Republic, and the 30th April, 1803. |
| "Robert R. Livingston (L.S.)" "James Monroe (L.S.)" "Barre Marbois (L.S.)" |
| The "particular conventions'' referred to in the ninth article of the treaty related to the manner in which the debts due the citizens of this country should be discharged, and the creation of a stock by the United States Government of $11,250,000, bearing interest at the rate of 6 per cent per annum, payable semiannually in Paris, London or Amsterdam. The original cost of the entire territory ceded by the treaty was about three cents an acre, but McMaster says: "Up to June 20, 1880, the total cost of Louisiana was $27,267,621." Livingston and Monroe's original instructions were to obtain by purchase or otherwise the Island of Orleans and the free navigation of the Mississippi. In concluding a treaty involving the purchase of the entire province, there is no question that they exceeded their authority, and for a time President Jefferson took the view that an amendment to the Federal Constitution (an "act of indemnity" he called it) would be necessary in order to legalize the transaction, but when he saw the acquiescence of the American people was so nearly universal he abandoned the idea. On October 17, 1803, he sent to Congress a message relating to the purchase, in which he said: "The enlightened Government of France saw, with just discernment, the importance to both nations of such liberal arrangement as might best and permanently promote the peace, interests and friendship of both; and the property and sovereignty of all Louisiana, which had been restored to them, have, on certain conditions, been transferred to the United States by instruments bearing date the 30th of April last. "When these shall have received the constitutional sanction of the Senate, they will be communicated to the representatives for the exercise of their functions, as to those conditions which are within the powers vested by the Constitution in Congress." Congress lost no time in ratifying the treaty. On October 20th, three days after the President's message on the subject was delivered, the Senate gave its sanction to the treaty, with all the conditions it imposed, and five days later it was ratified by the House. On the last day of the month the President approved measures providing for the creation of the stock of $11,250,000 for the payment of the province, and authorizing him to "take possession of Louisiana and form a temporary government therein." In accordance with the latter act and Article IV of the treaty, President Jefferson appointed Gen. James Wilkinson and William C. C. Claiborne, governor of Mississippi, commissioners to receive the transfer of Louisiana from Pierre Laussat, the French commissary. The formal transfer of the province from Spain to France and from France to the United States was made at New Orleans on December 20, 1803, when the Stars and Stripes were raised for the first time in token of sovereignty over the territory west of the Mississippi River. Thus the domain of the United States was extended westward to the summit of the Rocky Mountains and the eastern three-fourths of Wyoming became a part of the territory of the American Republic. Out of the province acquired by the Treaty of Paris have been erected the following states: Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Minnesota, North and South Dakota, nearly all of Montana, about one-third of Colorado, and three-fourths of Wyoming. |
| THE TEMPORARY GOVERNMENT |
| Although the transfer of Louisiana to the United States was made on December 20, 1803, the actual government of the upper or northern part of the province, which included Wyoming, did not begin until March 10, 1804. On that day Maj. Amos Stoddard of the United States army assumed the duties of governor of Upper Louisiana at St. Louis. In his "Historical Sketches of Louisiana," Major Stoddard says: "The ceremony of the transfer (from Spain to France) occurred between the hours of 11 A. M. and 12 M., March 9, 1804. The Spanish flag was lowered and the standard of France was run up in its place. The people, although conscious that the sovereignty of France was being resumed but for a moment and simply as a necessary formality in the final transfer, nevertheless could not restrain their joy at seeing float over them once more the standard which even forty years of the mild sway of Spain had not estranged from their memory. So deep was the feeling that, when the customary hour came for lowering the flag, the people besought me to let it remain up all night. The request was granted and the flag of France floated until the next morning over the city from which it was about to be withdrawn forever. At the appointed time on the next day, "March 10, 1804, the ceremony of transfer from France to the L'nited States was enacted. The flag of the French Republic was withdrawn and the Stars and Stripes waved for the first time in the future metropolis of the Valley of the Mississippi. Thus St. Louis became perhaps the only city in history which has seen the flags of three nations float over it in token of sovereignty within the space of twenty-four hours." |
| DIVIDING THE PROVINCE |
| On March 26. 1804. President Jefiferson approved an act of Congress dividing Louisiana into two parts, viz: The Territory of Louisiana and the District of Louisiana. The former embraced what is now the State of Louisiana and the latter included all the remainder of the purchase. Under the provisions of the act the District of Louisiana was made subject to the territorial government of Indiana of which Gen. William H. Harrison was then governor. Some historians state that by this act all of Copper Louisiana (which included Wyoming) was made a part of the Territory of Indiana. This is a mistake. The act merely regarded the District of Louisiana as unorganized territory and attached it to Indiana for judicial purposes, etc. About a year later a new arrangement was made. By the act of March 3. 1805. the name of the District of Louisiana was changed to the Territory of Louisiana, and the President was authorized to appoint a governor, secretary and two judges therefor. Pursuant to this act President Jefferson appointed Gen. James Wilkinson as governor; Frederick Bates, secretary; Return J. Meigs and John B. C. Lucas, judges. St. Louis was named as the seat of government. No Legislature was provided for in the act, but the above named officials were empowered to make such laws as they might deem necessary for the government of the territory. In the performance of this duty their task was not an arduous one, as outside of the City of St. Louis and its immediate vicinity there were no white inhabitants for whom legislation was necessary, consequently but few laws were made and those were of the simplest character. On June 4, 1812, President Madison approved the act creating the Territory of Missouri, which was cut out of the old District of Louisiana. By the act of March 2, 1819, the Territory of Arkansas was cut off. One by one other territories were erected, and these were afterward admitted as states, until the original purchase now embraces twelve of the largest states in the Union. In any one of these states the assessed valuation of property far exceeds the sum paid for the Province of Louisiana. |