Lesson 10.2: The Louisiana Purchase and Exploration

Today’s Essential Question: What was the importance of the purchase and

exploration of the Louisiana Territory?

Vocabulary

• surplus – more than what is needed or used

• nomadic – moving from place to place, without a permanent home

• expedition – a journey of exploration• headwaters – where a river begins

Check for Understanding• What is today’s essential question?• What do some people do with their

surplus clothing?• What are some people or animals that

might be described as nomadic?• What is an expedition that you would

like to be part of?• Which direction would you go to find

any river’s headwaters?

What We Already Know

Thomas Jefferson wanted America to remain a nation of small towns and

independent farmers.

What We Already Know

Even before the war for independence, Americans were

eager to move west into new lands.

What We Already KnowFor years, Western

farmers had depended on

access to the port at New Orleans to get their surplus

produce to eastern markets.

As Americans moved west, they entered three distinct geographic regions.

Trans-Appalachia

• Wooded; rolling hills and flatlands

• Well-watered• Humid summers,

cold winters• Settlers by the

thousands moving in, displacing the Native Americans

The Great Plains

• Flat, rolling plains• Rocky Mountains• Great Basin (desert)• Treeless; few rivers• Hot, dry summers;

bitterly cold winters• France and Spain• Nomadic Plains

Indians (horse culture)

• Non-migratory Indians in the Southwest

The Pacific Coast

• Mild weather; rainy in the Northwest, dry in the Southwest

• Sierra Mountains, Cascades, Coast Ranges, Central Valley

• Many natural harbors• Spain, Russia, Britain, the United

States in competition• Many Indian groups of various

cultures

The West in 1800

• In the 1800s, thousands of settlers moved westward across the Appalachian Mountains.

• Kentucky and Tennessee had become states by 1800.

The West in 1800

France and Spain were negotiating for ownership of the Louisiana Territory – the vast region between the

Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains.

The West in 1800

Along the Pacific coast, Spain, Russia, Great Britain, and the United States were

establishing settlements.

The West in 1800• As the number of westerners grew, so did

their political power. • An important issue for many settlers was

the use of the Mississippi River and the port of New Orleans.

• Westerners used the river and port to send their goods to east coast markets.

Check for Understanding

Be sure to re-state the question in your response!

A ask B: What city was most important for many westerners

in the early 1800s?

Get your whiteboards and markers ready!

6. Why was New Orleans important to Americans?

A. It was surrounded by mountain ranges that made it easy to defend in times of war.

B. It was a port city for farmers and merchants living in the Ohio Valley.

C. It guarded the entrance to the Mississippi River.

D. It was the banking and manufacturing center of the nation.

Napoleon and New Orleans• After losing the French and Indian War in 1763,

France turned Louisiana over to Spain. • In 1800, Spain secretly agreed to return the

Louisiana Territory, including New Orleans, to France.

Napoleon and New Orleans• Just before turning the colony over to France,

Spain closed New Orleans to U.S. ships, in violation of the Pinckney treaty.

• Angry Westerners called for war against Spain and France.

• To avoid war, Jefferson offered to buy the port of New Orleans from France for $2 million.

• France offered to sell the entire Louisiana Territory to the United States for $15 million.

Napoleon and New Orleans

• Napoleon had several reasons for selling the land.

• The first reason had to do with a profitable French colony in the Caribbean called Santo Domingo.

Napoleon and New Orleans

• All the land on Santo Domingo was used for growing sugar, so food had to be grown elsewhere.

• Napoleon planned to use land in the Louisiana Territory for farms to feed the slaves in Santo Domingo.

Napoleon and New Orleans

In 1801, a slave named Toussaint L’Ouverture led

a violent slave uprising against the French

colonists.

Napoleon and New Orleans

• Though Napoleon sent in French troops, they were unable to put down the revolt.

• Without a profitable slave colony to feed, Louisiana was of no use to Napoleon.

Check for Understanding

Be sure to re-state the question in your response!

B ask A: Who was Toussaint L’Ouverture?

Napoleon and New Orleans

• Napoleon also was involved in a costly war with Britain.

• He decided he needed money more than he needed Louisiana.

Napoleon and New Orleans

• Napoleon also feared he might lose New Orleans to the aggressive Americans.

• It would be better to sell it than have it be over-run by American settlers.

Check for Understanding

Be sure to re-state the question in your response!

A ask B: Why was Napoleon willing to sell Louisiana to the

United States?

Jefferson and Louisiana

• New Orleans as an outlet for shipping the products of Western farmers

• More land for farming, which was consistent with his vision for America’s future

• Access to the Pacific and trade with Asia

The Louisiana Purchase• Jefferson’s dilemma: strict construction of the

Constitution or the greatest land deal of all time.

• On April 30, 1803, the Louisiana Purchase treaty was approved by the Senate, giving the United States the port of New Orleans and doubling the size of the country.

Get your whiteboards and markers ready!

7. Why did Jefferson question his right to buy the Louisiana Territory?

A. Three other nations had legal claims to the region.

B. The Constitution said nothing about a president's right to buy land.

C. He had been elected but had not yet taken the oath of office.

D. To do so would put the nation in debt.

Lewis and Clark Explore• After purchasing the Louisiana

Territory from France, Jefferson planned an expedition to explore it.

• He chose Captain Meriwether Lewis to lead the expedition.

• Lewis chose his old friend Lieutenant William Clark to put together a volunteer force for the trip.

• Clark was skilled as a mapmaker and outdoorsman.

• The expedition called itself the Corps of Discovery.

Lewis and Clark Explore• Lewis and Clark spent

several weeks gathering a group of volunteers.

• They stayed in the town of St. Louis throughout the winter.

• In May 1804, the explorers left St. Louis and headed up the Missouri River.

Lewis and Clark Explore• Clark was accompanied by

York, his African-American slave.

• York’s hunting skills won him many admirers among the Native Americans met by the explorers.

• The first black man that many Indians had ever seen, York became something of a celebrity among them.

Up the Missouri River

• In May 1804, the explorers left St. Louis and headed up the Missouri River.

• Jefferson had given their mission three goals:• 1. use the Missouri and Columbia Rivers to find

a water route across the country; • 2. establish good relations with Native

Americans along the way;• 3. and write scientific accounts of the

landscapes, plants, and animals they saw.

Get your whiteboards and markers ready!

8. What were the three goals of the Corps of Discovery?

A. Find a water route to the Pacific Coast using the Missouri and Columbia Rivers.

B. Establish friendly relations with the Indians.C. Scout out locations for future American

military bases.D. Gather geographic and scientific information.E. Defeat and drive out any hostile Indians that

might threaten future settlers.

Be sure to choose three!

Up the Missouri River• By winter, the explorers had

reached North Dakota, and stayed with the Mandan Indians.

• In the spring of 1805, the expedition set out again accompanied by Sacagawea, a Shoshone Indian woman.

• Her language skills and knowledge of geography helped Lewis and Clark.

On to the Pacific Ocean• As the explorers traveled toward the Rocky

Mountains, Sacagawea pointed out Shoshone lands.

• When they finally made contact with the chief, he recognized Sacagawea as his sister.

• With the help of the Shoshone, the Corps of Discovery crossed the Rocky Mountains.

Get your whiteboards and markers ready!

9. How did Sacagawea help Lewis and Clark?

A. She served as their guide, because she knew a safe route to the Pacific Coast.

B. She had great knowledge of the local geography and of several language skills.

C. She helped them escape execution at the hands of a warlike Indian group known as the Mandans.

D. She helped them find a way back to the Missouri River on their journey home.

On to the Pacific Ocean• After leaving the Shoshone, the Corps of

Discovery then journeyed to the Columbia River, which led them to the Pacific Ocean in 1805.

• They spent a long, rain-soaked winter there before starting back to St. Louis the next spring.

On to the Pacific Ocean

• In 1806, the explorers returned to the East.

• They brought back valuable scientific and geographic information.

Check for Understanding

Be sure to re-state the question in your response!

B ask A: What information did the

Lewis and Clark expedition bring back?

The Lewis and Clark expedition brought back a

wealth of scientific and geographic information.

Pike’s Expedition• In 1806, Zebulon Pike left St. Louis to explore

southern areas of Louisiana.• Pike’s mission was to find the headwaters of the

Arkansas and Red Rivers near Spanish territory.• Pike’s party followed the Arkansas River toward

the Rocky Mountains, then turned south.

Pike’s Expedition• Hoping to run into the Red River, they instead ran

into the Rio Grande, in Spanish territory.

• They were arrested by Spanish troops and held prisoner until 1807.

• They returned with important descriptions of the Great Plains and the valley of the Rio Grande.

Check for Understanding

Be sure to re-state the question in your response!

A ask B: Who was Zebulon Pike?

Zebulon Pike was an Army officer who led an expedition into the southern part of the

Louisiana Territory.

Check for Understanding

Be sure to re-state the question in your response!

B ask A: What information did Pike’s expedition bring back?

Pike’s expedition brought back important descriptions of the Great Plains and the

valley of the Rio Grande.