Today In History- October 20

An important moment in the presidency of Thomas Jefferson, on October 20, 1803, the Senate formally ratified the Louisiana Purchase, the acquisition of nearly 800,000 square miles of French territory, more than doubling the size of the United States.  The issue of more slave-holding states in the territory caused great discontent from the current states, though Jefferson believed it was the destiny of the nation to expand, resulting from his strict intrepretation of the Constitution.  On October 20, the senate vote to ratify the treaty was 24-7 in favor, and immediately allowed Jefferson to set up a government in the new territory.