Thin films of epitaxial LaCoO{sub 3} were synthesized on SrTiO{sub 3} and (La, Sr)(Al, Ta)O{sub 3} substrates varying the oxygen background pressure in order to evaluate the impact of epitaxial growth as well as oxygen vacancies on the long range magnetic order. The epitaxial constraints from the substrate impose a tetragonal distortion compared to the bulk form. X-ray absorption and x-ray magnetic circular dichroism measurements confirmed that the ferromagnetism arises from the Co ions and persists through the entire thickness of the film. It was found that for the thin films to show ferromagnetic order they have to be grown under the higher oxygen pressures, since a decrease in oxygen deposition pressure alters the film structure and suppresses ferromagnetism in the LaCoO{sub 3} films. A correlation of the structure and magnetism suggests that the tetragonal distortions induce the ferromagnetism.