On December 20, 1803, William C.C. Claiborne, Governor of the Mississippi Territory and one of the commissioners appointed to take possession of Louisiana from France, participated in the ceremonial exchange of the territory to the United States. Gov. Claiborne wrote to Secretary of State James Madison to announce the official transfer and notify Sec. Madison that a U.S. flag was raised over the city. Letter to James Madison, Secretary of State, Announcing the Surrender of Louisiana to the United States by France, 12/20/1803, Records of the U.S. House of Representatives (ARC 306704)
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On December 20, 1803, William C.C. Claiborne, Governor of the Mississippi Territory and one of the commissioners appointed to take possession of Louisiana from France, participated in the ceremonial exchange of the territory to the United States. Gov. Claiborne wrote to Secretary of State James Madison to announce the official transfer and notify Sec. Madison that a U.S. flag was raised over the city.

Letter to James Madison, Secretary of State, Announcing the Surrender of Louisiana to the United States by France, 12/20/1803, Records of the U.S. House of Representatives (ARC 306704)

todaysdocument:

6,487 books: $23,950.  Rebuilding A National Library? Priceless.

Report from the Joint Committee on the Library of Congress regarding the precise terms of the purchase of Thomas Jefferson’s library, 11/01/1814

After much of the collection was destroyed during the War of 1812, Thomas Jefferson sold the 6,487 volumes of his personal library to rebuild the Library of Congress.

todaysdocument:

“…an offer from Th Jefferson late President of the United States, of the whole of his library for Congress in such a mode, and upon such terms as they consider highly advantageous to the nation, and worthy the distinguished gentleman who tenders it.”

Report from the Joint Committee on the Library of Congress regarding the purchase of Thomas Jefferson’s Library, 10/07/1814

This week marks the bicentennial celebration of the statehood of Louisiana. Among the historical records of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate at the Center for Legislative Archives are many documents that illustrate the important role Congress plays in the creation of states. For Louisiana the road to statehood was relatively short; it became a state less than 10 years after being acquired from the French Government under provisions of the Louisiana Purchase. Visit our featured documents page for selection of congressional records that document Louisiana’s journey to become the 18th state in the Union.  

Proclamation of Governor William Claiborne, 12/20/1803, Records of the U.S. House of Representatives 

President Jefferson’s nomination of William Claiborne, 11/30/1804, Records of the U.S. Senate

The Constitution of the State of Louisiana, 1/22/1812, Records of the U.S. Senate

HR 88, 3/20/1812, Records of the U.S. Senate

By the election of 1800, the nation’s first two parties were beginning to take shape. The Presidential race was hotly contested between the Federalist President, John Adams, and the Democratic-Republican candidate, Thomas Jefferson. Because the Constitution did not distinguish between President and Vice-President in the votes cast by each state’s electors in the Electoral College, both Jefferson and his running mate Aaron Burr received 73 votes. According to the Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution, if two candidates each received a majority of the electoral votes but are tied, the House of Representatives would determine which one would be President. Therefore, the decision rested with the lame duck, Federalist-controlled House of Representatives. Thirty-five ballots were cast over five days but neither candidate received a majority. Many Federalists saw Jefferson as their principal foe, whose election was to be avoided at all costs. But Alexander Hamilton, a well-respected Federalist party leader, hated Burr and advised Federalists in Congress that Jefferson was the safer choice. Finally, on February 17, 1801, on the thirty-sixth ballot, the House elected Thomas Jefferson to be President. The tie vote between Jefferson and Burr in the 1801 Electoral College pointed out problems with the electoral system. The framers of the Constitution had not anticipated such a tie nor had they considered the possibility of the election of a President or Vice President from opposing factions - which had been the case in the 1796 election. In 1804, the passage of the 12th Amendment corrected these problems by providing for separate Electoral College votes for President and Vice President. For more information about the Electoral College, please visit the Federal Register’s U.S. Electoral College webpage. Electoral vote tally, 2/1/1801, Records of the U.S. Senate
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By the election of 1800, the nation’s first two parties were beginning to take shape. The Presidential race was hotly contested between the Federalist President, John Adams, and the Democratic-Republican candidate, Thomas Jefferson. Because the Constitution did not distinguish between President and Vice-President in the votes cast by each state’s electors in the Electoral College, both Jefferson and his running mate Aaron Burr received 73 votes.

According to the Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution, if two candidates each received a majority of the electoral votes but are tied, the House of Representatives would determine which one would be President. Therefore, the decision rested with the lame duck, Federalist-controlled House of Representatives. Thirty-five ballots were cast over five days but neither candidate received a majority. Many Federalists saw Jefferson as their principal foe, whose election was to be avoided at all costs. But Alexander Hamilton, a well-respected Federalist party leader, hated Burr and advised Federalists in Congress that Jefferson was the safer choice. Finally, on February 17, 1801, on the thirty-sixth ballot, the House elected Thomas Jefferson to be President.

The tie vote between Jefferson and Burr in the 1801 Electoral College pointed out problems with the electoral system. The framers of the Constitution had not anticipated such a tie nor had they considered the possibility of the election of a President or Vice President from opposing factions - which had been the case in the 1796 election. In 1804, the passage of the 12th Amendment corrected these problems by providing for separate Electoral College votes for President and Vice President.

For more information about the Electoral College, please visit the Federal Register’s U.S. Electoral College webpage.

Electoral vote tally, 2/1/1801, Records of the U.S. Senate

On January 18, 1803, President Thomas Jefferson sent this confidential message to Congress seeking a $2,500 appropriation for an expedition to explore the West. The bill was cryptically referred to as “an act for extending the external commerce of the United States” in the House and Senate journals. On February 22, both chambers passed the bill and the Lewis and Clark expedition was funded. It was necessary for this message, and the subsequent appropriations, to be kept secret because the territory being explored was not part of the United States…yet. Of course this all changed later that year when Congress and Jefferson finalized the Louisiana Purchase. The new territory was officially turned over to the United States on December 20, 1803.

Thomas Jefferson’s confidential message to Congress, 1/18/1803, HR 7A-D1, Records of the U.S. House of Representatives (ARC 306698)

On December 20, 1803, William C.C. Claiborne, Governor of the Mississippi Territory and one of the commissioners appointed to take possession of Louisiana from France, participated in the ceremonial exchange of the territory from Spain to France to the United States. Claiborne issued this proclamation in three languages (English, French, and Spanish) to inform the residents of the territory that they would soon become citizens of the United States, and that in the mean time they could enjoy the freedoms and liberty under the protection of the U.S. Constitution. Proclamation of William C.C. Claiborne, 12/20/1803, HR 8A-D1, Records of the U.S. House of Representatives (ARC 593571)
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On December 20, 1803, William C.C. Claiborne, Governor of the Mississippi Territory and one of the commissioners appointed to take possession of Louisiana from France, participated in the ceremonial exchange of the territory from Spain to France to the United States. Claiborne issued this proclamation in three languages (English, French, and Spanish) to inform the residents of the territory that they would soon become citizens of the United States, and that in the mean time they could enjoy the freedoms and liberty under the protection of the U.S. Constitution.

Proclamation of William C.C. Claiborne, 12/20/1803, HR 8A-D1, Records of the U.S. House of Representatives (ARC 593571)

On October 20, 1803, the Senate ratified the Louisiana Purchase treaty with 24 yeas and 7 nays. The U.S. acquired 828,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River for $15 million. On January 16, 1804, Thomas Jefferson sent this message to Congress regarding the formal transfer of the Louisiana Territory to the U.S. He writes, “On this important acquisition, so favorable to immediate interests of our Western citizens, so auspicious to the peace and security of the nation in general, which adds to our country territories so extensive and fertile, and to our citizens new brethren to partake of the blessings of freedom and self-government, I offer to Congress and our country my sincere congratulations.” Message from the President, January 16, 1804, U.S. Senate
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On October 20, 1803, the Senate ratified the Louisiana Purchase treaty with 24 yeas and 7 nays. The U.S. acquired 828,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River for $15 million. On January 16, 1804, Thomas Jefferson sent this message to Congress regarding the formal transfer of the Louisiana Territory to the U.S. He writes, “On this important acquisition, so favorable to immediate interests of our Western citizens, so auspicious to the peace and security of the nation in general, which adds to our country territories so extensive and fertile, and to our citizens new brethren to partake of the blessings of freedom and self-government, I offer to Congress and our country my sincere congratulations.”

Message from the President, January 16, 1804, U.S. Senate