1. Chapter 5, Section 2 The Louisiana Purchase & Lewis and Clark Expedition p. 188-193
Having acquired a vast expanse of western territory, Jefferson sends Meriwether Lewis & William Clark to explore the region.

2. 5.2 section focus question:
Why was the Louisiana Purchase so important to the history and development of the United States?

3. The Nation Looks West
By 1800 over 1 million Americans live between the Appalachian Mountains & the Mississippi River.
Spain controls the Mississippi River & New Orleans (Pinckney Treaty 1795)
Spain fears American encroachment
Spain makes secret treaty to give Louisiana back to France
1802 (before giving N.O. to France) Spain takes away our right to ship in New Orleans!
By 1800, over a million Americans
lived in the “new” territories.

4. Napoleon Bonaparte
Jefferson fears Napoleon will cut off Americans from the lands west of the Mississippi. Why?
- He was trying to conquer all of Europe, so why not America too?
Jefferson sends his friends James Monroe & Robert Livingston to make a deal for New Orleans.
Napoleon (who had lost his American base in Haiti) surprises Jefferson by offering to sell all of Louisiana for $15 million.
Toussaint L’Ouverture

5. The Louisiana Purchase
James Monroe &
Robert Livingston
Jefferson’s “Strict Interpretation” Dilemma:
Nowhere in the Constitution does it say that the President can buy real estate. But this was an offer he could not refuse.
Since the president can make treaties, Jefferson believed he had the authority to buy Louisiana, and got Congress to agree

6. Lewis & Clark Explore the West
Meriwether Lewis & William Clark lead expedition (a long organized journey) to explore the Louisiana territory.
Use Native Americans as guides & translators
Sacagawea
Cross the continental divide and reach the Pacific Ocean
place where river systems flow in opposite directions
Bring back new information about the continent (There is no NW Passage....)

7. Question for discussion:
How might America be different without the Louisiana Purchase?

8. Pike’s Expedition
Zebulon Pike ordered to explore Southwest of the Louisiana Purchase
Captured by Spanish and imprisoned as spies
Released after several months, returns to U.S.
Both Pike and Lewis & Clarks’ expeditions are for exploration AND espionage.
Zebulon Pike

9. 5.2 section focus question:
Why was the Louisiana Purchase so important to the history and development of the United States?
The Louisiana Purchase nearly doubled the size of the U.S. We avoided war with France. It allowed U.S. to expand from “sea to shining sea”. We learned about the people, landforms, and wildlife of the west and found out once and for all that there is no Northwest Passage.