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1. Jefferson's first step was to buy the city of New Orleans from France.
2. In 1803, Jefferson sent messengers to France to meet with the French emperor and negotiate the purchase of New Orleans. However, to his surprise, the French emperor, Napoleon, wanted to sell not only New Orleans, but all of Louisiana.
3. Although presidents did not have the power to buy new territory, President Jefferson goes ahead and makes a deal with France to $15 million dollars.
Jefferson felt that it was essential that the United States continued to open new territory for settlement. Briefly describe the steps Jefferson took in order to buy the Louisiana Purchase.