The Louisiana Purchase
How did the Louisiana Purchase transform the nation?
In 1803 the U.S. bought about 828,000 sq. miles of territory from France. This is known as the Louisiana Purchase, and is represented by the white portion of the map below. Thomas Jefferson, along with Congress, sent James Monroe to Paris in order to buy some land along the gulf and New Orleans for $10 million dollars. Livingston, the American Minister to France, and Monroe ended up buying the entire territory for $15 million dollars, without consent from Congress, because Napoleon was in a hurry to close the deal. Congress later approved, and the deal was official. This deal nearly doubled the size of the U.S. and was a bargain at about 4 cents per acre. (Essential Question)
In 1803, before the Louisiana Purchase, Thomas Jefferson asked congress for $2,500 dollars in order to fund an expedition westward. After the purchase, this grew to a greater importance, and Jefferson decided to send his personal secretary, Meriwether Lewis, to lead the expedition. He was sent to study botany, zoology, medicine, and celestial navigation. Lewis recruited William Clark as his co-captain. The trip westward started on May 14, 1804. It took them nearly 2 years to complete the expedition, and along the way they encountered the Rocky Mountains, Native Americans, bears, and many new types of flora and fauna. They had learned about this new territory, and people started to move into it. For more on the Expedition, visit http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/338232/Lewis-and-Clark-Expedition. |