Unit 7, Notes 2

 France, under the leadership of Napoleon, took the Louisiana Territory from Spain in 1800  President Thomas Jefferson wanted to purchase New Orleans and Florida from the French but Napoleon needed more money to fund his European wars  After American diplomats Robert Livingston and James Monroe bargained with French foreign minister Talleyrand, France agreed to sell all of the Louisiana Territory (2.1 million square miles) for $15 million (4 cents an acre)  The U.S. more than doubled in size and gained complete control over the Mississippi River  Irony:  Jefferson believed in minimal government power and spending…Nothing in the Constitution gave the federal government the right to purchase additional land  The land was bought with U.S. Bonds made possible by Hamilton’s Bank initiative that Jefferson had opposed as unconstitutional

 Meriwether Lewis: private secretary of Thomas Jefferson and veteran soldier  William Clark: war veteran, Indian trader, pioneer  Lewis and Clark were chosen by Jefferson to lead the “Corps of Discovery” for the purposes of investigating the new territory and finding a Northwest Passage (water route to the Pacific)  The expedition (about 40 men) left St. Louis aboard a 55 foot keelboat and 2 canoes and sailed up the Missouri River in the Spring of 1804

 The expedition discovered that a Northwest Passage did not exist and were forced to travel through the mountain passes on foot  Encountered several geographic features, animal/plant species, and Native American tribes that were new to the Americans  Sacagawea: Shoshone Indian and pregnant wife of a French fur trader that served as a guide and interpreter after crossing paths with the expedition  After crossing the Rockies, the expedition built boats and sailed down the Clearwater and Columbia Rivers until they reached the Pacific Coast  The expedition then returned to share their encounters and arrived in St. Louis on September 23, 1806  William Clark went on to be a very influential mediator in Indian affairs; raised Sacagawea’s son  Meriwether Lewis suffered from depression and committed suicide

 Length of round-trip journey: 28 months  Discoveries: plants, animals, climate conditions, rivers, lakes, mountains, passes, Native Americans  What they carried: books, medicine and medical supplies, 15 rifles, clothing (45 flannel shirts), presents for Indians (tools, mirrors, tobacco, knives, etc.), camp supplies, and mathematical instruments  Dangers: uncharted terrain, Indian skirmishes, wild animals  Casualties: 1 death (appendicitis)  Significance:  America was introduced to its great love of the 19 th century… “The West”  Learned about the land and its potential

 Zebulon Pike: army officer that led an expedition westward in 1806  Pike’s Expedition traveled through the southwestern section of the Louisiana Territory along the Arkansas River and to the Rocky Mountains  Charted the mountain known as Pikes Peak  Mapped part of the Rio Grande  Gave a detailed description of the Great Plains and the Rocky Mountains