Chapter 10 Section 2 Notes: The Louisiana Purchase
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The port in New Orleans was vital to Americans. When the Spanish threatened to close
it to Americans, Thomas Pinckney proposed the Pinckney Treaty. In it, Spain agreed to
let Americans ship their goods down the Mississippi and store them in New Orleans.
Jefferson was upset to know that Spain had traded Louisiana back to France. He feared
that Napoleon would try to conquer North America.
Jefferson decided to buy New Orleans to stop this from happening. He sent delegates
to debate with Talleyrand, a foreign minister. When the delegates offered 4 million, he
said too low, but he said that France would be willing to sell the United States all of
Louisiana. The delegates debated, and they decided to buy it for 15 million. Talleyrand
agreed.
Jefferson wondered if he was allowed to buy land, because it did not say in the
Constitution. It was, because the president was allowed to make treaties.
In 1803, the Louisiana Purchase went into effect.
An expedition is a long voyage of exploration. Thomas Jefferson chose Meriwether
Lewis, his private secretary, to explore the Louisiana Territory. Lewis chose William
Clark to accompany him on the journey.
Jefferson asked the men to map a route to the Pacific Ocean and to study the geography
of the territory. He also instructed them to learn about the Indian tribes who lived
there. These tribes liked to trade. He told them to make peace with them.
About 50 men accompanied Lewis and Clark on the expedition.
Lewis and Clark traded with Native Americans.
During the first winter, the group stayed with the Mandans, where they met Sacagawea.
She and her French Canadian husband agreed to be translators for the voyage.
When the group crossed the Rockies, they came across the Shoshones, who traded
them food and horses. Sacagawea saw her brother, whom she had not seen in years.
On November 7, 1805, they reached the Pacific Ocean. It took them another year to
make it back to St. Louis.
From 1805-1807, Zebulon Pike explored the Southwest. He was arrested by some
Spanish people, who took all but one of his maps and journals.
The journeys of Pike and Lewis and Clark excited Americans. Settlers did not move into
the western lands for a number of years. They first settled the region closest to the
Mississippi River. The territory around New Orleans had a large enough population of
American citizens for the settlers to apply to be a state. In 1812, this territory entered
the Union as the state of Louisiana.