The Louisiana Purchase: Background
Thomas Jefferson became President of the United States in 1801. At that time, the
western boundary of the country was the Mississippi River. Thousands of pioneers had
crossed the Appalachian Mountains and settled in the Northwest Territory and Southwest
Territory. Two western states – Kentucky and Tennessee – had been admitted to the
Union. Farmers in these areas produced a wide variety of products, including flour,
tobacco, pork, butter, cheese, potatoes, apples, salt and products made of animals skins.
Flatboats were used to send these products down the Ohio and other rivers to the
Mississippi, then south to the port city of New Orleans. The goods were loaded onto
ships and carried to cities in the eastern United States and to countries in Europe.
When Thomas Jefferson became president, Spain owned Florida, which then stretched to
the Mississippi River, and the land west to the Mississippi known as “Louisiana.” New
Orleans belonged to the Spanish, but they permitted American farmers to ship goods
through the city. Jefferson believed that, in time, Americans would migrate into this vast
interior Spanish land. His belief was that, since Spain was a declining power, America
would eventually be able to annex this territory.
In 1801, France took control of New Orleans and the Louisiana Territory. France, under
the leadership of Napoleon Bonaparte, was a much stronger country than Spain.
American farmers were suddenly denied use of the Mississippi River and the port of New
Orleans, which meant an end to this profitable trade. President Jefferson feared that
Napoleon would try to establish a powerful French empire in North America. This would
have blocked American expansion westward.
Jefferson sent representatives to France in an attempt to get permission to use the
Mississippi and the port of New Orleans. Napoleon knew that he was close to the start of
another war with Great Britain. He needed money to finance this war. Therefore, when
the American representatives reached France, they received a surprising offer – the
French offered the port of New Orleans and the entire Louisiana Territory for
$15,000,000.
The results of the Louisiana Purchase were dramatic. The size of the United States
almost doubled. Eventually, all or part of fifteen states would be formed out of this
purchase. This purchase opened up valuable land for farming, fur trapping and, of course,
settlement. Moreover, the Louisiana Purchase insured that America would not have a
powerful and possibly hostile neighbor.
Questions:
1) Why was the Mississippi River and the port of New Orleans important to
American farmers? They were able to trade their goods to the east and to
Europe using the river and the port. The farmers were able to use the Miss
R. and the port of New Orleans b/c of the Pinckney Treaty signed when
Washington was president.
2) Why did President believe that eventually America would be able to annex
Louisiana from Spain?
1. Spain was losing its power and
2. the population is growing explosively; therefore Americans would
start to migrate into the Spanish territory.
3) Why did Napoleon purchase Louisiana from Spain? He wanted establish a
French world power in North America.
4) Why did Napoleon decide to sell Louisiana to the Americans?
1. Napoleon knew that he would soon be at war with Britain and needed
money to finance the war.
2. He is not sure if France can control Louisiana.
a. France was not able to put down a slave rebellion in Haiti led by
Toussaint L’ Overture. France realizes if it wasn’t able to control the
small island of Haiti, it could not control a massive piece of land as the
Louisiana Territory
5) What were the results of the Louisiana Purchase?
1. The size of the country doubled;
2. more land was now available for settling, farming, and fur trapping
3. gained the territory without having to go to war/no bloodshed
4. Jefferson is forced to accept the idea of loose intepretation of the
Constitution. How so? There is nothing in the Constitution that gives
him the power to purchase new land.
The vast territory that the United States had just purchased was essentially a mystery.
Few white men had ever ventured into the land west of the Mississippi. President
Jefferson chose Meriweather Lewis and William Clark to explore the Louisiana Territory.
Starting out from St. Louis, Missouri, Lewis and Clark began the expedition. Jefferson
had instructed them to take notes on the geography, mineral resources, plant and animal
life, and the Native Americans who lived in this region. Above all, Jefferson wanted
Lewis and Clark to follow the Columbia River to the Pacific Ocean. The President hoped
that only a short distance separated the Missouri and the Columbia Rivers, thus providing
a near all-water route to the Pacific Ocean. Unfortunately, the explorers found that the
actual distance between the rivers was 220 miles.
Much of the success of the Lewis and Clark expedition is due to their female Indian
guide, Sacajawea. After spending the winter of 1804 with the Mandan Indians, the
explorers set out to reach the Pacific Ocean with the Indian guide and her French
husband. Not only did Sacajawea act as guide and interpreter, but her presence on the
journey convinced other Indian tribes that the group had peaceful intentions. Besides
gathering a great deal of information about Louisiana, the Lewis and Clark Expedition
strengthened American claims to the Oregon Territory. On November 17, 1805, the
explorers finally sighted the Pacific Ocean. Other explorers followed Lewis and Clark
into the west. Zebulon Pike explored the upper Mississippi Valley. He also explored the
southwest during a second exploration. Starting at St. Louis Missouri, Pike attempted to
climb the mountain that is named after him today – Pike’s Peak.
Questions:
1) What were the primary goals of the Lewis and Clark expedition? To gain
information about the newly acquired territory and to find an all-water route
to the Pacific Ocean.
2) Why was Sacajawea important to the success of the expedition? She and her
husband served as Lewis and Clark’s guide, interpreter as they encountered
other Native American tribes and she convinced other tribes that Lewis and
Clark had peaceful intentions (therefore, she warded off any conflicts).