1. The Louisiana Purchase (1803)

2. Setting the Scene
Spain controlled the Port of New Orleans and Louisiana territory
Pres. Washington sent Thomas Pickney to try to keep the vital port open (TRADE)

3. Pickney’s Treaty (1795) – Washington’s deal w/Spain to allow Americans to use the Mississippi River as route to transport goods to New Orleans
1800 – Spain signs treaty w/France giving Louisiana back to France

4. The United States buys Louisiana
President Thomas Jefferson sent Robert Livingston and James Monroe to France
GOAL:
Buy New Orleans & West Florida for less than $10 million
James Monroe
Robert Livingston

5. Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand
A Surprise Offer
Livingston and Monroe negotiated with French Foreign Minister Talleyrand
Napoleon Bonaparte (ruler of France) needed money to pay for costly wars in Europe
Talleyrand asked Livingston if the U.S. wanted to buy ALL of Louisiana (not just New Orleans)
Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand

6. The Louisiana Purchase DOUBLED the size of the United States
The Purchase
They agreed to pay the French $15 million dollars for the entire territory of Louisiana
The Louisiana Purchase DOUBLED the size of the United States

7. 1803 – Senate approves treaty and the Louisiana Purchase
Was it Constitutional?
President Jefferson hailed the news from France, but he was unsure if the purchase went against the Constitution
Constitution said nothing about a President having the power to buy land.
He reasoned that the Constitution allowed the President to make treaties as long as the Senate approved the treaty. (ELASTIC CLAUSE)
President Thomas Jefferson
1803 – Senate approves treaty and the Louisiana Purchase

8. The Significance of Lewis & Clark’s Expedition
President Jefferson asked Meriwether Lewis & William Clark to head an expedition through Louisiana
Lewis and Clark had 3 Goals:
1) to map a route to the Pacific
2) investigating Indian tribes & trading patterns
3) establish relations w/Natives

9. The Significance of Lewis & Clark’s Expedition (cont.)
Explorations gave Americans information about western lands laying the foundation for westward expansion