[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 21 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
1st Session
H. CON. RES. 21
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 24, 2003
Received and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Commemorating the Bicentennial of the Louisiana Purchase.
Whereas in 1803, the United States purchased the Louisiana Territory from France
for a total of $15,000,000;
Whereas President Thomas Jefferson designated Robert Livingston and James Monroe
to negotiate the treaty with Napoleon Bonaparte;
Whereas the Louisiana Purchase included 827,987 square miles, nearly 600,000,000
acres, the largest single land purchase in our Nation's history;
Whereas the Louisiana Purchase territory stretched from Canada to the Gulf of
Mexico and from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains, nearly
doubling the size of the United States at that time;
Whereas this purchase enabled dramatic further westward expansion and helped
fuel the Nation's rise as a world power;
Whereas 15 States or parts of States were carved out of the Louisiana Purchase
territory, including Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana,
Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota,
Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming;
Whereas the land was acquired by peaceful means, in stark contrast to the usual
methods of old-style empires, which often conquered new territories by
force;
Whereas the acquisition secured the United States' trading abilities by
guaranteeing its navigation rights on the Mississippi River and its
ability to send goods through the Port of New Orleans for shipment to
the Atlantic Coast and Europe; and
Whereas generations of Americans have benefited from President Jefferson's noble
vision of America and his efforts at expanding our new Nation onto the
continent: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
That the Congress celebrates the 200th anniversary of the Louisiana
Purchase, recognizes the extraordinary work of the individuals involved
in the transaction, and is grateful for the tremendous part the event
played in fulfilling our Nation's Manifest Destiny.
Passed the House of Representatives September 23, 2003.
Attest:
JEFF TRANDAHL,
Clerk.