Chapter 9-2 Notes: The Louisiana Purchase
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By 1800, more than 1 million settlers lived west of the Appalachians
o Most were farmers, shipping their goods down the Mississippi River to
New Orleans
Loaded on trade ships and sent to markets in the east
o Spain threatened to close New Orleans port to American ships; America
made the Pinckney Treaty with Spain to keep the port open
o 1801, Spain gave control of Louisiana territory to France, threatening
American expansion
Jefferson worried Napoleon would try to build an empire in America
Jefferson sent James Monroe to France to buy city of New Orleans
o In Haiti, a revolution drove the French out – taking away a base for
defending Louisiana
France and Britain were close to war – Napoleon needed money to
finance the war effort
Napoleon offered to sell the entire Louisiana Territory – Monroe
agreed to a $15 million deal
Purchasing the territory doubled the size of America, provided
millions of acres of fertile farmland and natural resources, and
control of the Mississippi River
o Strict or loose interpretation: Constitution does not say the President has
the power to buy land from another country
Jefferson interpreted the Constitution allows the President to make
treaties; the Senate approved the treaty, Congress voted to pay for
the land
1804, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark led an expedition to explore the
Louisiana territory
o expedition – long and carefully organized journey
o Began in St. Louis up the Missouri River into the Great Plains
By October, they camped in North Dakota for the winter and were
joined by Sacagawea
o April 1805, the expedition set out into Montana, climbing the Rockies
Reached the Continental Divide in August – place on a continent
that separates river systems flowing in opposite directions
o After crossing the Rockies, they reached the Columbia River and sailed
into the Pacific
Returned to St. Louis by October 1806
1806-1807, Zebulon Pike explored southern part of Louisiana Territory, climbing
a mountain that rose out of the Colorado plains
o called Pike’s Peak
o Pike’s journey led south into New Mexico territory
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