Buying The Unknown: Jefferson's Brass Cojones
![Buying The Unknown: Jefferson's Brass Cojones](https://images.unsplash.com/35/wkjFpgTwSPnxksbAxnkA_IMG_5192.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&q=80&fm=jpg&crop=entropy&cs=tinysrgb&fit=max&ixid=eyJhcHBfaWQiOjExNzczfQ&w=2000)
It seems that politicians these days can't rally to take action on even the smallest decisions, so it's easy to forget about the bold leaders of our past.
But I saw something awesome today in Michael Porath's Manifest Destiny project.
In 1803, Thomas Jefferson executed the Louisiana Purchase. We all learned about it in school. But what's incredible -- and what I didn't learn in school -- is that the size of the land purchased was unknown at the time it was bought.
So, think about that for a second the next time you hear politicians bickering over immaterial issues. Thomas Jefferson paid $15MM in 1803 for a body of land that he had no idea the size of. Now that takes brass cojones and it's a great reminder to follow your gut, because what he was really buying was the removal of French influence in the region, and he knew that alone justified the purchase price.