Chapter 8: Grand Strategy of the United States

The Ohio territory didn’t give strategic depth. It was unpopulated and it was unconnected to the rest of the country. Constructing roads across the mountains appeared as difficult as going to the moon does now. But The Ohio Territory did have a tremendous highway—the Ohio River, that was navigable and could be used to transport goods.

The problem with the Ohio River is that it connected to the Mississippi. And the probably of the Mississippi was that it belonged first to the Spanish and then to the French. That meant that even if the U.S. could occupy the Northwest Territory, it couldn’t transport agricultural products from it and couldn’t defend it against the French. In addition, the French could, even without passing through the Northwest Territories, threaten the southern United States directly.

The United States required more depth. They also need depth with a good river transport system. That river had to run to the ocean to ship to the east coast of the United States. And that meant controlling the Mississippi River and its key port, the city of New Orleans.

If the Louisiana Territory was added to the Northwest Territory the United States would, effectively, occupy all of North America between the Appalachians and the Rockies. And with that, the U.S. would acquire the most valuable farmland in the world, made valuable not only by the soil and climate, but by the most extraordinary river complex in the world. Consisting of the Ohio, Missouri and Arkansas rivers, all pouring into the Mississippi river—along with the numerous tributaries—the river system was entirely navigable. That meant that the agricultural land, if settled, could ship its produce around the world. And that meant that the United States had a powerful economic foundation.

The United States would also acquire to key to the American heartland—the city of New Orleans. It was the farthest point ocean going vessels could go and the farthest point where barges carrying grain from the Midwest could go. It was the natural point for a port where barges and ocean going vessels could meet.

Everything had to go through New Orleans and whoever controlled New Orleans controlled the center of North America. It didn’t matter how much land you owned and how much produce you generated. The Midwest was all agricultural if it were settled. If produced agricultural products. It didn’t consume them. The United States had to get New Orleans if it were to survive. Without it, the United States would remain a chain of isolated states stretched along a narrow, vulnerable coast. Geopolitics demanded strategic depth that could enhance American economic life.

The Louisiana Purchase solved the problem. The purchase laid the foundation for an unprecedented economic revolution. Settlers west of the Appalachians were able, under the Northwest Territories Act, to acquire 160 acres of land if they settled and worked the land. Since the land was fertile, once it was cleared, it was able to more than sustain the farmers. This is where the river complex became so important. The rivers provided cheap and efficient transport to New Orleans. There the agricultural products could be reloaded on ocean going freighters heading to the Atlantic Coast or to Europe. It fed the increasingly urban populations on both continents. It created a class of farmer that produced more than it could consume, and could sell the surplus on the world market. These were both revolutionary events.

Thomas Jefferson Purchase Louisiana but it was Andrew Jackson who save it and guaranteed that it would be useful. During the War of 1812, the British went after the real heart of the country: New Orleans. The British understood that if they took New Orleans, the United States would crumble. They could control the Mississippi and therefore dictate what happened in the center of the United States. If they did that, the development of the region would happen under British terms. The British would dominate the central region and the U.S. would remain a coastal enclave. They therefore went to the heart of the problem. They attacked New Orleans.