Louisiana Purchase Treaty: Analysis

Louisiana Purchase Treaty: Analysis

Symbols, Motifs, and Rhetorical Devices

Rhetoric

EthosIf we had a dime for every time someone waxed poetic about how inspiring, uplifting, and emotional governmental treaty documents are, we would not have very many dimes.And that's by design. Se...

Structure

Legal DocumentIt couldn't have been easy, writing a three-part legal document in two languages that applied to two countries that were both in all kinds of upheaval. But that's what the fearless Lo...

Tone

What'd you expect from a treaty? Aside from a slight yes-we're-getting-the-best-deal-ever tone, this pretty much sounds like your basic treaty.

Writing Style

Good news? This isn't some horribly long legislative document that you have to sift through to find the deets.Bad news? It's three separate documents. But to be fair, the Louisiana Purchase wa...

What's Up With the Title?

What's in a name?Would a rose by any other name smell as sweet? We don't know, but we're taking a stand right here and now that the Louisiana Purchase known by any other name would still be…the L...

What's Up With the Opening Lines?

The President of the United States of America and the First Consul of the French Republic in the name of the French People desiring to remove all Source of misunderstanding relative to objects of d...

What's Up With the Closing Lines?

The present convention Shall be ratified in good and due form and the ratifications Shall be exchanged in Six months from the date of the Signature of the Ministers Plenipotentiary, or Sooner if po...

Tough-o-Meter

(8) Snow LineThe Louisiana Purchase isn't the longest treaty ever created, but it's definitely one of the more difficult to read, and there are a few reasons for that: First, we've got the rambling...

Shout-Outs

In-Text ReferencesReferences to Specific PlacesAmsterdam (C1.2.1)London (C1.2.1)New Orleans (T.5.1; T.7.1)Paris (T.10.3; C1.2.1; C1.3.4; C2.10.1; C2.13.3)Historical and Political ReferencesAmerican...

Trivia

For the (inflation-adjusted) price of the Louisiana Purchase, you could buy more than 81 million beignets today. Tasty. (Source)Louis-André Pichon (French minister to the United States) was the gu...