President Jefferson wanted to acquire the Port of New Orleans to protect the right of merchants and farmers west of the Appalachian mountains to trade and navigate along the Mississippi River. In 1798, the Spanish had revoked the United States' right to navigate the river and deposit goods in New Orleans. This caused an economic crisis in the Ohio River Basin. That same year, Spain gave the territory of Louisiana over to the French. Many southerners feared that Napoleon would free the slaves in that territory, which could potentially spark a slave rebellion in the United States.

Jefferson felt it necessary that the United States secure the port in order to safeguard American interests in trade once and for all. Napoleon was more focused on events in Europe than in the Americas, and therefore his representatives were eager to sell the entire territory. Nearly overnight, the United States doubled in size. Now the country had secure rights to navigate along the Mississippi River and use New Orleans as a port for international and domestic trade.