Chapter 8, Section 2

The Louisiana Purchase

American Settlers Move West

• Early 1800’s – Thousands of American settled in the area

between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River

– Kentucky, Tennessee, and Ohio granted statehood

– Settlers depended on the Mississippi River to move their goods east

– New Orleans was a very important port

American Settlers Move West

• New Orleans and Louisiana under Spanish control– Region from the Mississippi River to the vast

Rocky Mountains

• Spanish officials found it impossible to keep American settlers out of the area

• In a secret treaty, Spain passed Louisiana to France

Louisiana

• 1802– Just before passing Louisiana off to France,

Spain closed the port of New Orleans, angering Americans and hurting the American economy

• President Thomas Jefferson asked the U.S. Ambassador to France (Robert R. Livingston) to try to purchase New Orleans– President Thomas Jefferson sent James

Monroe to help Livingston negotiate terms

Napoleon and Louisiana

• Napoleon Bonaparte– Powerful ruler of France– Conquered most of Europe– Wanted to rebuild France’s empire – Strategy

• Use French colony of Haiti (in the Caribbean) as a supply base

• From there, send troops of Louisiana – Enslaved Africans in Haiti revolted and freed

themselves from French rule • Napoleon tried to crush the rebellion on the island but his

forces were defeated in 1802, ending his hopes of rebuilding a North American empire

Jefferson Buys Louisiana

• The American ambassador got a surprising offer during his negotiations with French Foreign Minister Charles Talleyrand– When the Americans tried to buy New Orleans,

Talleyrand offered to sell all of Louisiana to America

• With his hopes of a North American empire dashed, Napoleon turned his attention to Europe– At war with Great Britain– In need of money and military supplies– Hoped that a larger United States would challenge

Great Britain’s authority on the world stage

Jefferson Buys Louisiana

• Knowing a bargain when presented with one, Livingston and Monroe accepted the French offer for $15 million

• President Thomas Jefferson was pleased but as a strict constructionist, he was troubled– The Constitution did not mention the purchase of

foreign lands– He hated spending large amounts of public money

• Louisiana Purchase– Approved by Senate on October 20, 1803– Doubled the size of the United States

Explorers Head West

• Americans knew very little about western Native Americans

• Americans were unfamiliar with western land

• President Thomas Jefferson wanted to learn more about the people and land west of the Mississippi River

• Jefferson also hoped to find a river route to the Pacific Ocean

Lewis and Clark Expedition

• 1803– President Thomas Jefferson asked Congress to fund

an expedition to explore the West• Selected former army captain Meriwether Lewis• Lewis then chose his friend William Clark to co-lead the

expedition with him

• Lewis spent weeks preparing for the journey by studying with experts about plants and surveying– This helped him to take careful notes on the journey

of what he saw• With Clark, Lewis selected 50 skilled

frontiersmen to join the Corps of Discovery

Lewis and Clark Expedition

• Lewis and Clark Expedition– Began in May of 1804– Long journey to explore the Louisiana Purchase– Traveled up the Mississippi River to the village of St.

Charles• Once past St. Charles, the expedition would receive no more

letters, fresh supplies, or reinforcements

• Lewis and Clark navigated the Missouri River into unknown lands

Contact with Native Americans

• The Lewis and Clark expedition traveled more than 600 miles up the Missouri River without encountering any Native American peoples– When the expedition spotted large buffalo

herds the in the distance, they smartly guessed that Native Americans would be nearby

• Buffalo was a source of food for Native Americans

Contact with Native Americans

• Lewis utilized interpreters to communicate with the Native Americans that the expedition encountered– Relied on the goodwill of the Native Americans– Sacagawea

• Shoshone from the Rocky Mountains• Accompanied the group with her French fur trading husband• Helped the expedition by naming plants and animals• Helped identify edible fruits and vegetables indigenous to the

west • Brother provided horses and a guide to lead the expedition

across the mountains

Contact with Native Americans

• After crossing the Rocky Mountains, Lewis and Clark followed the Columbia River and met the powerful Nez Perce along the way– The Nez Perce people provided the expedition with

food • Lewis and Clark reached the Pacific Ocean in

November of 1805 and remained in the Pacific Northwest for the remainder of the winter– Began journey home in March of 1806

• Lewis and Clark did not find a river route to the Pacific Ocean, but they learned much about Western Lands and paths across the Rockies

Pike’s Exploration

• Zebulon Pike– Young army officer– 1806, sent on a mission into the west

• Ordered to find the starting point of the Red River

– Explored into Colorado and tried to reach the summit of the mountain now called Pike’s Peak

– 1807, traveled into Spanish territory until his arrest• Suspected Pike was a spy

– Released and returned to the United States– Offered many Americans their first description of the

Southwest