1904 Louisiana Purchase Commemoratives
Robert R. Livingston: 1 Cent Green. As his Minister to France Thomas Jefferson sent Livingston and James Monroe to offer $2 million dollars to buy New Orleans and West Florida from France and Spain. But they couldn't pass up a bigger bargain and purchased an area (for $15 million) which doubled the size of the United States. The Louisiana Purchase was Livingston's most notable achievement.
Thomas Jefferson: 2 Cent Carmine. Jefferson is remembered as our third president, but he was also a lawyer, legislator, educator, author, musician, inventor, mathemetician, farmer and statesman! He was very interested in westward expansion, but he worried about France and Spain's possessions west of the Mississippi. When the time was right, he wisely took advantage of financial problems in France and bought the Louisiana Territory.
James Monroe: 3 Cent Violet. Monroe studied law under Thomas Jefferson and later helped Livingston to acquire the Louisiana Territory. He is most remembered as our fifth president and for the "Monroe Doctrine" which profoundlly influenced the foreign policy of the U.S. This doctrine insisted that Europe not interfere with the government of, or try to colonize any other nation in the New World.
William McKinley: 5 Cent Dark Blue. Besides Jefferson, no other president has been as aggressive in acquiring new territories for the U.S. Mckinley annexed Hawaii (realizing the importance of U.S. interest in the Pacific). And he acquired from Spain the Philippines, Guam, Puerto Rico and Cuba. An assassin shot him on September 6, 1910. Doctors did not believe his wound was serious but he died on September 14.
Map of the Louisiana Territory: 10 Cent Red Brown. This stamp design illustrates a map of the U.S. with the Louisiana Territory superimposed. It makes obvious what a significant and dramatic step the Louisiana Purchase was. Some felt the Constitution was not explicit in authorizing such territorial acquisitions and claimed the purchased to be "unconstitutional". Thomas Jefferson felt that since such actions were not expressly forbidden in the constitution, then they must be allowed.