The answer is that he did not have the power. But at three cents an acre, and to keep the crucial New Orleans port open, Jefferson and is representatives simply made the deal. It was ratified after by a treaty of dubious legality.
This was all the more delicate as Napoleon - the seller - had no legal right from France itself to do so.
President Thomas Jefferson sponsored the Louisiana Purchase. The purchase of the Louisiana territory occurred in 1803 and dissolved in 1804.
Power granted to the President to make treaties.
Thomas Jefferson
The powers of the president were increased.
James Madison who was the Secretary of State when the Louisiana Purchase was made.
The Louisiana Purchase
President Thomas Jefferson sponsored the Louisiana Purchase. The purchase of the Louisiana territory occurred in 1803 and dissolved in 1804.
The Louisiana Purchase occurred in 1803. At this time, the president of the United States was Thomas Jefferson, who approved the purchase despite domestic disapproval.
The Louisiana Purchase
Power granted to the President to make treaties.
thomas Jefferson
He arranged the purchase of the Louisiana Territory from France in 1803.
The Louisiana Purchase.
Although there was opposition to the Louisiana Purchase, it fell under the loose interpretation of the President's power to negotiate treaties, and the US Senate reluctantly approved it.
On the grounds that the president was not specifically given the power to purchase new lands is why the strict constructionists of the US constitution would have questioned the purchase of the Louisiana Territory. The purchase doubled the US land size at the time.
Thomas Jefferson
the Louisiana Purchase