Louisiana Purchase Treaty: Sovereignty Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Document.Article.Sentence)

Quote #4

Immediately after the ratification of the present Treaty by the President of the United States and in case that of the first Consul's shall have been previously obtained, the commissary of the French Republic shall remit all military posts of New Orleans and other parts of the ceded territory to the Commissary or Commissaries named by the President to take possession—the troops whether of France or Spain who may be there shall cease to occupy any military post 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. (T.5.1)

It's also tough to be a sovereign nation when all of the nearby troops and guns belong to another country. The United States had only had its own national military for 14 years when this treaty was enacted, but that didn't mean it wanted someone else's militia hogging all of the forts and weapons in Louisiana.

Quote #5

[…] 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 and manufactures 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 Port of New-Orleans and in all other legal 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 merchandize or other or greater tonnage than that paid by the citizens of the United States. (T.7.1)

One of the things sovereign nations get to do is decide who gets to do business within their borders, and the authors wasted no time in clearing up how commerce was going to go down in American Louisiana. France and Spain, since they'd been so helpful and friendly, were given special status. Other countries, not so much. (Looking at you, Great Britain.)