Ever heard someone say, "My house, my rules"? Sure you have. When we own something—a car, a house, whatever—we pretty much get to dictate how things run in it.
And nations work the same way: the land and people within a country's borders are subject to its laws and regulations.
That, in a nutshell, is the concept of sovereignty.
Since the Louisiana Territory changed hands so many times after it was claimed by French explorers in 1682, the authors of the Louisiana Purchase apparently decided it was a good idea to emphasize the changing of the guard from French sovereignty to American sovereignty, and to outline some of the specific ways those changes would be implemented.
From citizenship to military outposts, Livingston, Monroe, and Barbé-Marbois put some serious thought into this whole idea. Guess they didn't want there to be any confusion about who was in charge this time around.
Questions About Sovereignty
- How did the population of America change due to the Louisiana Purchase? What effect did this have, if any, on the country's understanding of national sovereignty?
- POTUS Jefferson was concerned at the time that he didn't have the authority to acquire land and make it American. Was this issue ever resolved? If so, what was the resolution?
- If France secretly owned Louisiana from 1800 until 1803, why did they let Spain continue to act all sovereign over it?
Chew on This
It kind of goes without saying that everything in Louisiana would be subject to American rules and regulations once the sale of the land was complete; some of the details were probably not necessary to include.
With all of the past confusion about who was really in control of Louisiana (was it France, or was it Spain?), it was a smart move to assert American sovereignty right there in the purchase documents.