nt diplomatist, at once conciliatory and unyielding: he played
his cards shrewdly, and events helped him. The Peace of Amiens was
broken, and, after a very brief respite, England and France were again
at war. Napoleon's sagacity saw clearly enough that he could not hope to
hold and develop his new colony in the face of a hostile power which was
his master on the sea. It would suit his immediate purpose better to
replenish his treasury with good American dollars which might soon be
urgently needed. He became, therefore, as willing to sell as Jefferson
was to buy, and between two men of such excellent sense a satisfactory
bargain was soon struck. The colony of Louisiana and all the undeveloped
country which lay behind it became the inheritance of the American
Federation.

Concerning the transaction, there is more than one point to be noted of
importance to history. One is the light which it throws on Jefferson's
personal qualities. Because this man held very firmly an abstract and
reasoned theory of the State, could define and defend it with
extraordinary lucidity and logic, and avowedly guided his public conduct
by its light, there has been too much tendency to regard him as a mere
theorist, a sort of Girondia, noble in speculation and rhetoric, but
unequal to practical affairs and insufficiently alive to concrete
realities. He is often contrasted unfavourably with Hamilton in this
respect: and yet he had, as events proved, by far the acuter sense of
the trend of American popular opinion and the practical requirements of
a government that should command its respect; and he made fewer mistakes
in mere political tactics than did his rival. But his diplomacy is the
best answer to the charge. Let anyone who entertains it follow closely
the despatches relating to the Louisiana purchase, and observe how
shrewdly this supposed visionary can drive a good bargain for his
country, even when matched against Talleyrand with Bonaparte behind him.
One is reminded that before he entered politics he enjoyed among his
fellow-planters a reputation for exceptional business acumen.

Much more plausible is the accusation that Jefferson in the matter of
Louisiana forgot his principles, and acted in a manner grossly
inconsistent with his attitude when the Federalists were in power.
Certainly, the purchase can only be defended constitutionally by giving
a much larger construction to the powers of the Federal authority than
even Hamilton had ev