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