Anyone wondering how POTUS Jefferson felt about France's ownership of the Louisiana Territory really need look no further than this letter to Robert R. Livingston from April 18th, 1802.

Hint: he wasn't stoked.

Part instructional guide, part diary entry, and part introductory lesson to secret codes, this letter is chock-full of the eloquence and insight that POTUS No. 3 was known for. In it, we see that Jefferson originally had his eye on buying New Orleans and the Floridas, and wasn't really thinking the United States could get its hands on all of Louisiana.

He also had plenty to say about America's friendship with France, Spain's desirability as a neighboring landlord, and the difficulty he felt France would face in its butting of heads with the slaves of Saint-Domingue.

It's a good read, and it almost—but not quite—makes us wish letter writing was still a thing.