The Louisiana Purchase

The Louisiana Purchase

* Spain trades Louisiana to France because they can’t keep American settlers out of the territory

The Louisiana Purchase

“You can’t put doors on an open country…”

~Spanish foreign minister

The Louisiana PurchaseA. French Louisiana

1.Napoleon Bonaparte – powerful leader of France

a. Wanted to rebuild French

empire in North America

(Louisiana)

The Louisiana Purchaseb. First needed to take over island

of

St. Domingue (Haiti) to use as

supply base

The Louisiana Purchase1. Toussaint-Louverture, ruler

of island (and former slave),

defeats Napoleon’s troops

The Louisiana Purchase2. Meanwhile, US becomes suspicious

of Napoleon and his plans for

Louisiana

The Louisiana Purchasea. France could interfere with

US’s

westward expansion and trade

at Port of New Orleans

The Louisiana PurchaseB. Louisiana Purchase

1. Jefferson sends Livingston + Monroe

to ask French foreign minister

(Talleyrand) about buying New Orleans

The Louisiana Purchase

“Without New Orleans, the rest of

Louisiana is of little value to France”

~Talleyrand

What do you think this response implies – does Talleyrand want to see New Orleans?

The Louisiana Purchase2. Americans surprised when French

offer to sell ALL of Louisiana

a. France at war with England and could use the $$ for supplies

The Louisiana Purchase3. Louisiana Purchase - Americans buy

Louisiana for $15 mill

a. Land stretches from Mississippi River to Rocky Mts.

The Louisiana Purchase

b. Jefferson (strict constructionist)

doesn’t think Constitution allows

this

1. He agrees because purchase is in best interest of US

The Louisiana Purchase

C. Mission of Discovery

1. Jefferson sets up western expedition to learn about

land, people and rivers of west

The Louisiana Purchasea. Meriwether Lewis and William

Clark lead expedition

1. task: explore rivers and form

peaceful relations with Indians

The Louisiana Purchase“Other objects worthy of notice will be the

soil and face of the country, its

growth and vegetable productions…. the animals of the country….mineral productions of every kind… and the area’s climate.” ~Jefferson

The Louisiana PurchaseD. Lewis and Clark Expedition

1. Lewis, Clark and Corps of Discovery set out

a. Sacagawea (Indian from Rocky Mts) and her husband

help the team

The Louisiana Purchase2. The team keeps journals describing people, places, animals, conflicts and

sicknesses

The Louisiana Purchase3. Sacagawea’s brother assists the team across Rocky Mts.

4. November 1805 – team sees Pacific

The Louisiana Purchase5. Lewis and Clark didn’t find river

route across west but they did: - establish relationships with

Indians - collect info about plants and

animals

The Louisiana PurchaseE. Pike’s Exploration

1. Zebulon Pike sent to find starting

point of Red River and spy on

Spanish

The Louisiana Purchase

a. Pike explored Spanish lands until arrested by Spanish

b. His trip created good business opportunities in the Southwest