Unit 8: The Louisiana Purchase & the war of 1812 Lesson 3: Highlights of the Louisiana purchase and lewis & clark’s expedition

Trouble in the lower Mississippi river area In 1800, ___________ controlled the lower Mississippi River area Spanish control of this area often caused problems for the Americans who lived west of the Appalachian Mountains Spain

These Americans depended on the Mississippi River to ship their products down river to… New orleans Then from New Orleans, the goods could be exported to other countries for sale.

Although there were rules against it, Spanish officials occasionally stopped Americans from using the lower Mississippi River or… imposed a tax on goods sent through New Orleans.

So it was no surprise that the U. S So it was no surprise that the U.S. wanted control of the lower-Mississippi River & New Orleans Americans wanted to be able to ship products down the river for export… without being stopped or taxed

Why would napoleon want to sell Louisiana? 3 major reasons: 1. france was at war with England, so napoleon needed… His troops in Europe to fight the british

2. napoleon could use the profit from the sale to… Pay for the war with england

3. since napoleon didn’t have enough soldiers to protect the Louisiana territory, he ran the risk of losing the land to the british He preferred to have the land end up with the U.S. than the british

With 800,000 sq. miles of new land, Jefferson needed to know what was out there He hired Meriwether Lewis (age 28) & William Clark (age 32) to lead an expedition all the way to the pacific

He had 3 major goals for them: 1. find an easy … water route to the pacific 2. learn about… natural resources in the west 3. make friends with the native americans & learn from them

Lewis & Clark, 101 ____ men, ranging in age from 17 to 35 ______ mile journey from st. Louis to the Pacific and back Took _____________ 1 man died _______________ Cost _________ 47 8,000 2 ½ years of a burst appendix $40,000

So how well did they do? They: Accomplished Jefferson’s goals Learned about the west Spurred further curiosity about the west Jefferson was thrilled 