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Pie's a la Mode
Gretna Statue Recalls Extraordinary Deal
By PIE DUFOUR
If Thomas Jefferson had not been talked out of seeking a constitutional amendment to empower him to receive Louisiana from France, there probably wouldn’t have been an unveiling of a Jefferson monument Saturday in the Gretna Courthouse Plaza.
But Jefferson was influenced to change his political philosophy to that of his Federalist adversaries and to receive for the United States a vast empire he didn’t feel, in his heart, he had the legal right to do under the Constitution.
Because President Jefferson changed his mind, Louisiana became American and in due course a part of Louisiana became the Territory of Orleans and part «f the latter became Jefferson Parish, which is celebrating its 150th anniversary.
A highlight of the Jefferson Parish Sesquicentennial was the dedication of the nine-foot, two-ton bronze statue of Thomas Jefferson, created by the distinguished American sculptor, Donald De-Lue, who produced several years ago the Louisiana monument for the Gettysburg National Battlefield Park. As an additional salute to Jefferson in the 150th year of the parish that bears his name, the ferry, Crescent, was re-named Thomas Jefferson. This ceremony followed the dedication of the statue.
The Louisiana Purchase was a melange of extraordinary events.
Napoleon Bonaparte never came through with all his promises to Spain for the return of Louisiana to France. He then sold it to the United States in violation of the French consitution which prohibited the head of state — Napoleon was till only Bonaparte, First Consul, not Emperor of the French — from alienating territory without the consent of the two legilative bodies.
The United States representatives, Robert Livingston, the minister to France who did most of the work, and James Monroe, sent by Jefferson as a special envoy, were authorized to spend $2 million for the Island of Orleans. They exceeded their authority l\k times by spending S15 million for one-third of the present continental United States.
So Bonaparte’s unlawful sale and Livingston's and Monroe's unauthorized purchase put far-sprawling Louisiana on a silver platter before President Jeffer: son. Now, Jefferson was a strict con-structinist as far as the Constitution of the United States was concerned. He did not believe in implied powers, as did the Federalists, his bitter opponeritjr*"He
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did not believe in a borad interpretation of the Consitution as they did. Unless the Constitution spelled it out, the President couldn’t act. Jefferson, accordingly, didn’t believe he could accept Louisiana under the Constitution. So he sat down and wrote an amendment to the constitution empowering the President to acquire new territory by purchase.
That’s when Jefferson’s advisors began to work. In essence, they told him that an amendment would take too long going through the Congress and then getting the necessary approval, of the state legislatures. By the time that took place, Napoleon might change his mind and the deal would be off. So Jefferson, unwilling to let such a bargain slip away be-cause of his political philosophy, changed that philosophy and the Louisi; ana Purchase went through.
The last of the extraordinary events was the financing. The U.S. issued stock, but Napoleon at war again with England, wanted cash to continue the struggle. And how' did he get it? The British banking firm, Baring and Company^and an Amsterdam affiliate, Hope'and Company, bought the stock at a discount of abut 18 per cent to give Napoleon the funds to continue the war against England.	f,-
Because Thomas Jefferson changed his mind, he stands in bronze today !in the Jefferson Parish Court House Plaza, in Gretna:	{•.