Louisiana Purchase Grade Level: 4-6 Teacher Guidelines Instructional Pages Activity Page Practice Page Homework Page Answer Key ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ pages 1 – 2 pages 3 – 6 pages 7 - 8 page 9 page 10 page 11 - 14 Classroom Procedure: 1. Ask students: What would you do if you had a chance to purchase an acre of land for just 59 cents? How many acres would you purchase? 2. Allow for responses and discussion. Ask students if they know how the United States expanded to the west during the 1800s. 3. Allow for responses and discussion. Introduce the Louisiana Purchase. 4. Distribute Louisiana Purchase content pages. Read and review the information with the students. Save the final question for the lesson closing. Use the additional resources to enhance understanding. 5. Distribute Activity page. Read and review the instructions. Group students into 3s or 4s. Individually the students will complete the 1st half of the activity, and each map should be similar when completed. Students then discuss the questions with the group. Encourage students to debate using facts to support their responses. Allow sufficient time for discussion. 6. Once completed, the class joins together to respond to and discuss the questions. 7. Distribute Practice page. Check and review the students’ responses. 8. Distribute the Homework page. The next day, check and review the students’ responses. 9. In closing, ask students: If you could purchase the land the size of your state for just several cents an acre, how would you plan to use the land? What would you build on some of the land? 10. Allow for responses and discussion. Encourage students to share their motivations for use of the land. Approximate Grade Level: 4 – 6 Objectives: The students will be able to define the Louisiana Purchase, identify key facts and figures related to the purchase, and describe its impact on the United States Common Core State Standards: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.3 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.3 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.6.3 Class Sessions (45 minutes): At least 2 class sessions. Teaching Materials/Worksheets: Louisiana Purchase content pages (3), Activity pages (2), Practice page, Homework page Student Supplies: Colored pencils, handouts Prepare Ahead of Time: Group students for activity. Copy handouts. Options for Lesson: Students may work in pairs for the activity. Create additional questions for the activity and discussion. Split the class into two groups, one will be for, the other against, the Louisiana Purchase. Students create maps from scratch showing the Purchase. Students identify all 48 states on the map. Assign students individual people or places related to the lesson to research and present to the class. Students create time lines, based on additional research, related to the Louisiana Purchase. 1 Teacher Notes The lesson introduces students to the Louisiana Purchase which became significant for the westward expansion of the United States. Many of the students may be familiar with the westward expansion, the Lewis and Clark Expedition, and the Gold Rush, but may not be fully aware of how the Louisiana Purchase is related to the events. Using “before and after” maps, and displaying the growth of the U.S. during the 1800s, is highly recommended for teachers to use with students during the lesson. _________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ Additional Resources: CONTENT: http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/articles/ushistory/louisianapurchase.htm http://mrnussbaum.com/history-2-2/lapurchase/ http://www.american-historama.org/1801-1828-evolution/louisiana-purchase.htm http://wiki.kidzsearch.com/wiki/Louisiana_Purchase http://westernexpansion.mrdonn.org/louisianapurchase.html WORKSHEETS: http://www.k12reader.com/worksheet/find-the-main-idea-the-louisiana-purchase/ https://www.education.com/worksheet/article/the-louisiana-purchase/ http://images.pcmac.org/SiSFiles/Schools/GA/SumterCounty/StaleyMiddle/Uploads/Forms/louisiana%20 purchase%20lessons.pdf https://www.havefunteaching.com/product/worksheets/social-studies-worksheets/america-worksheets/ louisiana-purchase-worksheet-1/ http://pixelpaperskin.com/study/louisiana-purchase-map-worksheet.html (maps) VIDEOS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcfBoOqzugA (3 min) http://kids.britannica.com/students/assembly/view/183187 (2 min) http://www.teachertube.com/video/louisiana-purchase-182250 (2 min) http://www.watchknowlearn.org/Category.aspx?CategoryID=5420 (Links to…) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBAsURdQFi0 (3 min) 2 Louisiana Purchase A Small Country Do you live east or west of the Mississippi River? In the early 1800s, if you had lived west of the Mississippi, most likely you would have been a Native American, and you would not have been a citizen of the United States. As you know, the original 13 colonies, which later became the first 13 states of America, were mostly located along the East coast of the New World. A colonist who wanted to travel “across” the country would not have far to go, about 1,000 miles. Unlike today, if you want to travel across the United States, you would need to travel over 3,000 miles. Prior to 1803, the United States would have been considered a small nation. However, the population was growing and quality land for farming and other uses was becoming scarce. People knew the land west of the Mississippi River existed and many began to head west in search of new opportunities. The land was not part of the United States, but in 1803 that would dramatically change as the size of the United States doubled in size under President Thomas Jefferson. For Sale: Land, Great Location, Low Cost In 1800, a person living east of the Mississippi would be seriously interested in the advertisement for land in a great location and with a low cost. Though there was not an advertisement for people to purchase land west of the Mississippi, in 1803 Thomas Jefferson did take advantage of a sale that would double the size of the country, called the Louisiana Purchase. The Louisiana Purchase included much more land than Louisiana, it also included either all or parts of the current states of Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, North and South Dakota, Nebraska, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado. 3 The Origin of the Purchase In 1802, New Orleans was not a part of the United States, but Jefferson wanted to purchase the city because it controlled the Mississippi River, which was important for shipping goods and products to and from parts of the country west of the Appalachian Mountains. A treaty with Spain allowed the American merchants to use the port. However, in 1800, Napoleon Bonaparte a French military and political leader, returned Louisiana to French control. Many Americans believed and feared they would lose the right to use New Orleans as a port for shipping the goods and products. Jefferson and his administration thought that purchasing the city of New Orleans from the French would solve the problem and alleviate their fears. The purchase would include other parts of Louisiana as well, located east of the Mississippi. The president sent two negotiators to Paris, France in 1801 to make the deal, James Monroe and Robert Livingston. However, in Paris, negotiations were not going well. A third person was called in to help with the negotiations in 1802, Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours, who had close ties to Jefferson and at the time was living in the U.S. Dupont had close ties to the political powers in France too. As with many political negotiations, in the past and of those today, behind the scenes meetings took place on Jefferson’s behalf as Dupont made a personal visit to France. Dupont had a better idea than simply purchasing New Orleans. He believed the U.S. should purchase all of Louisiana, but Jefferson did not agree. It would mean France had a right to be in the territory, but he also did not think presidents had the authority to make such a deal. People on both sides were opposed to the deal for several other reasons as well. In 1803, Jefferson again sent Monroe to France with a different set of instructions for a purchase. Sending Monroe again gave the sense of seriousness to a better deal for the purchase of land. Napoleon decided to sell all of Louisiana to the U.S. and the negotiators were willing to pay $2 million for New Orleans, but were then shocked when the entire region, from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada and the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains, was offered for about $15 million. They accepted. The price turned out to be just 3 cents per acre. Napoleon saw the sale as a positive for the French, and as a strategic move against the British. He wanted to be on the good side of the U.S. hoping America would go against the British to what he thought would be inevitable problems in the future. He believed the plan would keep America out of the French conflict with Britain and France out of North America. 4 In the end, following the purchase, Napoleon used the money to help him with plans to control the European continent, and between 1805 and 1807, he defeated Russia, Prussia, and Austria, and made himself the “master” of most of Europe. Opposition Of course, with such a large purchase, there would inevitably be those opposed to the plan. There were those in America, called the Federalists, who were in favor of close relations with Britain and not with Napoleon. They thought the purchase was unconstitutional believing the U.S made the purchase to declare war on Spain. It was also thought the citizens living along the East coast of the country would lose political power to those moving to the West. They foresaw conflicts between farmers and merchants, between the East and West. The bickering nearly led to some New England states becoming its own confederacy, with Aaron Burr as its new president, separating itself from America. However, Alexander Hamilton stopped the northern succession and went against Burr and ended with Hamilton’s death in a duel with Burr in 1804. Despite the opposition, on April 30, 1803 the Louisiana Purchase Treaty was signed by Livingston, Monroe, and French leader, Barbe Marbois. The announcement of the treaty was given by Jefferson on July 4th of the same year. Following the Senate’s ratification of the treaty, Jefferson authorized possession of the land on October 31. He also set in motion the expedition of Lewis and Clark for the land’s exploration. 5 The Louisiana Purchase led to Westward Expansion, many people moving to the west of the Mississippi River to live and work. In subsequent years, the California Gold Rush during the mid-1800s took place and by the 1890s, nearly 100 years later, the United States included a total of 44 states. The significance and importance of the Louisiana Purchase can be easily summarized as shown below: • Doubled the size of the country • Ended French’s presence in the Midwest • Reduced Spain’s power in the U.S. • Obtained the New Orleans port for exports • Navigation rights on Mississippi & Missouri R. • Added to the wealth of the country • Large areas of forest contributed to economy • Opened opportunities for expansion & farming The original price of the Louisiana Purchase was $15 million and included 529,911,680 acres of land, which is about 3 cents per acre. In 2017 dollars, the land would have been worth about $313 million or about 59 cents per acre. Because of the purchase, the United States was no longer a small nation but would become a leader in the world. If you could purchase the land the size of your state for just several cents an acre, how would you plan to use the land? What would you build on some of the land? 6 Activity Name __________________________ Date _________ Follow the instructions: 1. Obtain a map of the United States to help with the activity, and colored pencils. 2. Use BLUE to show the location and path of the Mississippi River. 3. Use GREEN to shade each of the 13 original colonies which are now states. 4. Use YELLOW to shade, and then label, the 15 states (use abbreviations) that were all or part of the Louisiana Purchase. 5. Use a BLACK dot to identify the location of New Orleans. 6. Use a RED dot to identify the location of your school. 7. Discuss each of the following questions with your group. Write your response and the responses you agree with from other group members on your Activity Page. 8. When responding to questions, try to persuade other group members to agree with your response if there is a disagreement among the group. 9. Support your responses with facts if necessary. 10. Once completed, the questions/responses will be discussed with the entire class. 7 Activity Name __________________________ Date _________ A. What arguments could the Federalists use to prevent the Louisiana Purchase from taking place? What arguments could be used in favor of the Louisiana Purchase taking place? Against For B. What economic development might take place following the Louisiana Purchase? C. “For political reasons, it is sometimes important for government deals to take place behind the scenes, without public knowledge.” Do you agree or disagree with the statement? Why? D. What effect do you believe the Louisiana Purchase had on the Native Americans? What were the disadvantages and advantages of the purchase for the Native Americans? Disadvantages Advantages 8 Practice Name __________________________ Date _________ Match to the correct Person 1 A French military and political leader, “master” of Europe. A Aaron Burr 2 President responsible for the Louisiana Purchase. B Alexander Hamilton 3 Negotiator sent to Europe a second time by the United States. C Barbe Marbois 4 Close ties with Jefferson and France, helped with negotiations. D James Monroe 5 Dies during a duel with Aaron Burr in 1804. E Lewis and Clark 6 A negotiator for the Louisiana Purchase with Monroe. F Napoleon Bonaparte 7 French leader and signer of the Louisiana Purchase Treaty. G Pierre du Pont 8 Named by Jefferson to explore the Louisiana Purchase land. H Robert Livingston 9 Asked by some New England states to be its president. I Thomas Jefferson Match to the correct Place 10 The Louisiana Purchase doubled the size of the country. J California 11 Living here would be a disadvantage, according to Federalists. K Canada 12 The area the Louisiana Purchase expanded to the west. L East Coast 13 Gold Rush occurred here during the mid-1800s. M France 14 Napoleon decided to sell all parts of this state. N Gulf of Mexico 15 The country the U.S. purchased land from in 1803. O Louisiana 16 The dividing line between the East and West of America. P Mississippi River 17 Treaty with this country allowed the U.S. to use New Orleans. Q New Orleans 18 Negotiators were willing to pay $2 million for this city. R Rocky Mountains 19 The northern boundary of the Louisiana Purchase. S Spain 20 The southern boundary of the Louisiana Purchase. T United States 9 Homework Name __________________________ Date _________ Answer each of the questions. 1. Name the 15 states that are all or part of the Louisiana Purchase: ______________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ 2. In what city in France did the Louisiana Purchase negotiations take place? _______________________ 3. What did the city of New Orleans control in 1802? ___________________________________________ 4. What was the total cost of the Louisiana Purchase? _________________________________________ 5. What was the cost per acre of the Louisiana Purchase? ______________________________________ 6. On what date was the Louisiana Purchase Treaty signed? ____________________________________ 7. What helped Napoleon defeat Prussia, Russia, and Austria in between 1805 and 1807? _____________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ 8. What mountain range is east of the Mississippi River? _______________________________________ 9. How many original colonies were there that made up the U.S.? ________________________________ 10. How many total states were part of America during the 1890s? _______________________________ Tell whether each statement is an Opinion (O) of Fact (F) about the Louisiana Purchase. 11 The Louisiana Purchase is the best thing to ever happen for the United Sates. 12 The Louisiana Purchase was a leading reason for Westward Expansion. 13 The West will have more of an advantage over those living in the East. 14 The acquisition of land to the west opened opportunities for farming. 15 Behind the scenes deals, like that made for the purchase, are good for a country. 16 The purchase of land from France was ruled constitutional by the Supreme Court. 17 The purchase added to the wealth of the country and forest contributed to the economy. 18 Thomas Jefferson was a much better President due to the decision on the purchase. 19 Without the Louisiana Purchase, today the United Sates would be a smaller country. 20 The Federalist were in favor of close relations with Britain. 10 Activity Answer Key (may vary) Name __________________________ Date _________ Follow the instructions: (States should include abbreviations.) 1. Obtain a map of the United States to help with the activity, and colored pencils. 2. Use BLUE to show the location and path of the Mississippi River. 3. Use GREEN to shade each of the 13 original colonies which are now states. 4. Use YELLOW to shade, and then label, the 15 states (use abbreviations) that were all or part of the Louisiana Purchase. 5. Use a BLACK dot to identify the location of New Orleans. 6. Use a RED dot to identify the location of your school. 7. Discuss each of the following questions with your group. Write your response and the responses you agree with from other group members on your Activity Page. 8. When responding to questions, try to persuade other group members to agree with your response if there is a disagreement among the group. 9. Support your responses with facts if necessary. (Responses may vary.) 10. Once completed, the questions/responses will be discussed with the entire class. 11 Activity Answer Key (may vary) Name __________________________ Date _________ A. What arguments could the Federalists use to prevent the Louisiana Purchase from taking place? What arguments could be used in favor of the Louisiana Purchase taking place? Against For Illegal for president to do, unconstitutional, harm citizens in the East, may cause a war with Spain, political power shift to the west More land for farmers and others for several uses, America expands, cities less crowded, etc. B. What economic development might take place following the Louisiana Purchase? New cities could be built, people moving west for additional jobs/employment, helpful for merchants and sales of goods and products, etc. C. “For political reasons, it is sometimes important for government deals to take place behind the scenes, without public knowledge.” Do you agree or disagree with the statement? Why? Responses will vary, may include negotiators can make better decisions without public or political pressure, details leaked may be taken out of context. Those who disagree may feel it is the rights of citizens to know what their government is doing, representing them, etc. D. What effect do you believe the Louisiana Purchase had on the Native Americans? What were the disadvantages and advantages of the purchase for the Native Americans? Disadvantages Advantages Native American homes taken over, loss of land, loss of resources, physical harm, etc. May open new opportunities to sell their goods, new goods and products from American merchants, etc. 12 Practice Answer Key Name __________________________ Date _________ Match to the correct Person 1 F A French military and political leader, “master” of Europe. A Aaron Burr 2 I President responsible for the Louisiana Purchase. B Alexander Hamilton 3 D Negotiator sent to Europe a second time by the United States. C Barbe Marbois 4 G Close ties with Jefferson and France, helped with negotiations. D James Monroe 5 B Dies during a duel with Aaron Burr in 1804. E Lewis and Clark 6 H A negotiator for the Louisiana Purchase with Monroe. F Napoleon Bonaparte 7 C French leader and signer of the Louisiana Purchase Treaty. G Pierre du Pont 8 E Named by Jefferson to explore the Louisiana Purchase land. H Robert Livingston 9 A Asked by some New England states to be its president. I Thomas Jefferson Match to the correct Place 10 T The Louisiana Purchase doubled the size of the country. J California 11 L Living here would be a disadvantage, according to Federalists. K Canada 12 R The area the Louisiana Purchase expanded to the west. L East Coast 13 J Gold Rush occurred here during the mid-1800s. M France 14 O Napoleon decided to sell all parts of this state. N Gulf of Mexico 15 M The country the U.S. purchased land from in 1803. O Louisiana 16 P The dividing line between the East and West of America. P Mississippi River 17 S Treaty with this country allowed the U.S. to use New Orleans. Q New Orleans 18 Q Negotiators were willing to pay $2 million for this city. R Rocky Mountains 19 K The northern boundary of the Louisiana Purchase. S Spain 20 N The southern boundary of the Louisiana Purchase. T United States 13 Homework Answer Key Name __________________________ Date _________ Answer each of the questions. 1. Name the 15 states that are all or part of the Louisiana Purchase: Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, North and South Dakota, Nebraska, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado. 2. In what city in France did the Louisiana Purchase negotiations take place? Paris 3. What did the city of New Orleans control in 1802? Mississippi River 4. What was the total cost of the Louisiana Purchase? $15 million 5. What was the cost per acre of the Louisiana Purchase? 3 cents 6. On what date was the Louisiana Purchase Treaty signed? April 30, 1803 7. What helped Napoleon defeat Prussia, Russia, and Austria in between 1805 and 1807? The funding he received from the sale of land to the United States helped him with plans to control Europe. 8. What mountain range is east of the Mississippi River? Appalachian Mountains 9. How many original colonies were there that made up the U.S.? 13 10. How many total states were part of America during the 1890s? 44 Tell whether each statement is an Opinion (O) of Fact (F) about the Louisiana Purchase. 11 O The Louisiana Purchase is the best thing to ever happen for the United Sates. 12 F The Louisiana Purchase was a leading reason for Westward Expansion. 13 O The West will have more of an advantage over those living in the East. 14 F The acquisition of land to the west opened opportunities for farming. 15 O Behind the scenes deals, like that made for the purchase, are good for a country. 16 F The purchase of land from France was ruled constitutional by the Supreme Court. 17 F The purchase added to the wealth of the country and forest contributed to the economy. 18 O Thomas Jefferson was a much better President due to the decision on the purchase. 19 O Without the Louisiana Purchase, today the United Sates would be a smaller country. 20 F The Federalist were in favor of close relations with Britain. 14