GACE Special Education Reading, English Language Arts, and Social Studies (087) Practice Test

The idea being tested is the scope of presidential power to add new territory. Jefferson hesitated because the Constitution does not expressly authorize the President to acquire land. He worried about acting beyond the government’s constitutional powers and preferred to have clear authority before making such a large, lasting change. Even so, he moved forward by using a treaty with France, which the Senate could ratify, showing how he could work within constitutional channels. So the main obstacle wasn’t the price, or opposition to expansion, or worries about Native American lands—it was the ambiguity about whether the President had the constitutional authority to purchase new territory.