• Login
  • Register
  • FAQ
  • Contact Us
  • Home
  • Documents
  • Activities
  • Activity Tools
    • All Tools
    • Analyzing Documents
    • Discussion Topic
    • Compare and Contrast
    • Zoom/Crop
    • White Out / Black Out
    • Spotlight
    • Finding a Sequence
    • Making Connections
    • Mapping History
    • Seeing the Big Picture
    • Weighing the Evidence
    • Interpreting Data
  • Popular Topics
    • See All
    • National History Day
    • The Constitution
    • Sports: All-American
    • Rights in America
    • American Indians
    • Women's Rights
    • American Revolution
    • The Civil War
    • World War I
    • World War II
    • The Vietnam War
    • 1970s America
    • Congress
    • Amending America
    • Elections
    • What Americans Eat
    • Signatures
    • Nixon and Ford Years
  • Resources
    • Getting Started
    • Document Analysis
    • Activity-Creation Guide
    • Manage Assignments
    • iPad App
    • Presentation Materials
    • Webinars
      • Recorded Webinars
      • Live Webinars
MENU
DocsTeachThe online tool for teaching with documents, from the National Archives National Archives Foundation National Archives

President Jefferson's Message to the Senate Asking for Advise and Consent to the Louisiana Purchase Treaty

10/17/1803

Print
Add to Favorites:
Add
Saving document...
Your document has been saved.
Add all page(s) of this document to activity:
President Thomas Jefferson sent this message to the Senate, laying before it the conventions with France for the cession of the province of Louisiana to the United States. The President asks the Senate to consent to the agreement with France for the Louisiana Purchase.

Show/Hide Transcript

Transcript

[number "182" and "Henny" penciled in top center]

Gentlemen of the Senate

In my message of this day to both houses of Congress, I explained the circumstances which had led to the conclusion of conventions with France, for the cession of the province of Louisiana to the United States. Those Conventions are now laid before you, with such communications [superscript "X"] relating to
them as may assist in deciding whether you will advise and consent to their ratification.

The Ratification of the First Consul of France is in the hands of his Charge des affaires here, to be exchanged for that of the United States, whensoever, before the 30th instant, it shall be in readiness.

Th Jefferson [signature]
Oct. 17. 1803.


Note: "X" The Communications transmitted to the Senate are
The [illegible...] of March 2, 1803
[struck through - Extract from [illegible ...] Apr 22, 1803
The [illegible ...] of Apr 18 1803
Extract from [illegible...] Apr 28, 1803 [included as an insert in the left margin- + to Mesrs Livingston + Monroe of May [illegible]
[illegible...]
Letters from Mesrs Livingston & Monroe of May 13 ^and May 16 1803
Letter from Mesrs Livingston & Monroe June 7, 1803
Extract of a letter from Secy of State of 29 July 1803
------ from Mr. Monroe at London 15 Aug 1803
[included as a bubble insert in the right margin - M. D'Yrujo to Secy of State Sept 4 1803, [illegible] 27 1803]
------ from ^Mr Monroe & Mr. Livingston 6 Oct 1803
------ [struck through - from Mr. [illegible] to Mr. Pinckney 4]
Letter from Secy of State to M. D'Yrujo - 4 Oct 1803
Letter from M. D'Yrujo to Secy of State - 12 Oct 1803
----- Secy of State to D'Yrujo - 12 Oct 1803
Mr Pechon to Secy of State - 14 Oct 1803
This primary source comes from the Records of the U.S. Senate.
National Archives Identifier: 306460
Full Citation: Message of President Thomas Jefferson laying before the Senate the conventions with France for the cession of the province of Louisiana to the United States; 10/17/1803; Records Relating to Foreign Relations during the 8th Congress; Records Relating to Treaties with Foreign Countries, 1789 - 2000; Records of the U.S. Senate, Record Group 46; National Archives Building, Washington, DC. [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/documents/document/consent-louisiana-purchase, April 1, 2023]
Return to ResultsReturn

Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.

  • Explore Primary Source Documents
  •  
  • Discover Activities You Can Teach With
  •  
  • Create Fun & Engaging Activities
Follow us on Twitter:twitter
Follow us on Facebook:facebook
Please enter a valid email address

View our webinars:youtube

Get our iPad app:apple
New Documentsshare
New Activitiesshare

The National Archives

DocsTeach is a product of the National Archives education division. Our mission is to engage, educate, and inspire all learners to discover and explore the records of the American people preserved by the National Archives.

The National Archives and Records Administration is the nation's record keeper. We save documents and other materials created in the course of business conducted by the U.S. Federal government that are judged to have continuing value. We hold in trust for the public the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights — but also the records of ordinary citizens — at our locations around the country.
  • All Education Programs
  • Student Visits
  • Distance Learning
  • Professional Development
  • National Archives Museum
  • Presidential Libraries
  • Archives.gov
  • National Archives Foundation




Creative Commons License

Except where otherwise noted, DocsTeach is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Primary source documents included on this site generally come from the holdings of the National Archives and are in the public domain, except as noted. Teaching activities on this site have received the CC0 Public Domain Dedication; authors have waived all copyright and related rights to the extent possible under the law. See our legal and privacy page for full terms and conditions.