Background A conflict over navigation of the Mississippi had been solved in 1795 with a treaty in which Spain recognized the United States right to use the river and to deposit goods into New Orleans for the transfer of oceangoing vessels. In one of his letters to Livingston, Jefferson wrote," Spain might have retained (New Orleans) quietly for years .
Background A conflict over navigation of the Mississippi had been solved in 1795 with a treaty in which Spain recognized the United States right to use the river and to deposit goods into New Orleans for the transfer of oceangoing vessels. In one of his letters to Livingston, Jefferson wrote," Spain might have retained (New Orleans) quietly for years .