[Gianni]

The only use of the word "weak" in that post was describing Jefferson's understanding of the constitution

Believe it or not, Jefferson's understanding was more that federal power was weak (limited by the constitution). It was not clear to him, nor to others, that the constitutin permitted the purchase, and thus an amendment would be required.

Had he been of a Hamiltonian mindset, he would have just ignored the restraints of the constitution and done as he pleased.

[justshutupandtakeit]

There was no reason for a constitutional amendment to allow purchase of Louisiana and both its greatest creators, Madison and Hamilton, understood that. Jefferson, who had nothing whatsoever to do with the document, didn't. He couldn't even see that the purchase was constitutional merely on a Defense basis.

How blind can one be who cannot see that removing a potentially hostile power from our continent was within the constitutional powers of National Security? But Jefferson was a small thinker not one like Hamilton who thought as the Continentalist for decades.