LESSON 48: Louisiana Purchase & Embargo Act of 1807

LESSON 48: Louisiana Purchase & Embargo Act of 1807 (8.5E, 8.6B, 8.12C)

Today we will identify the domestic and foreign policies of Thomas Jefferson using a reading selection.

How did Thomas Jefferson deal with domestic and foreign problems?

Key Vocabulary Words

• Thomas Jefferson

• Louisiana Purchase

• Embargo Act of 1807

• Impressment

Do Now

President Thomas Jefferson’s foreign policies influenced two major actions. The Louisiana Purchase, a treaty made with France, doubled the size of the United States. The Embargo Act of 1807 had a negative impact on the U.S. 

What three details from the image are associated with the Louisiana Purchase?

Open Ended

DO NOW: What three details from the image above associated with the Louisiana Purchase?

Thomas Jefferson

In the early 1800’s, Americans were moving west of the Appalachian Mountains in large numbers. There were very few options when it came to sending raw goods to markets in the East. Taking loaded wagons eastward across the mountains was impossible because of the lack of roads, the travel time needed, and the limited cargo capacity of the wagons. The only practical movement of goods eastward was by floating them down the Mississippi River on rafts, and then loading them on large ships that sailed to Eastern markets. This required the movement of goods through a city owned by another country, New Orleans. The isolation of the western states was the only thing keeping them from economic prosperity.

The Louisiana Purchase

In 1803, Thomas Jefferson discovered that France was now the owner of the Louisiana Territory. Having a good reputation with France, Jefferson sent his friend James Monroe to France’s leader, Napoleon Bonaparte to try to buy the city of New Orleans. To their astonishment, Napoleon offered to sell the entire territory, some 828,000 square miles for only $15 million. It was an offer too good to pass up, even though Jefferson could not find where a President had any authority to purchase land specifically written in the Constitution. This purchase doubled the size of the United States.

Multiple Choice

Which important port city did the U.S. have because of the Louisiana Purchase?

• Boston

• New Orleans

• New York

• Charleston

This territorial acquisition had hugely affected the development of the United States. Western states now benefitted by having a dependable and profitable route to transport goods to eastern markets. Eastern cities were able to profit by gaining a new source of domestic raw goods. Thousands of people, especially immigrants, migrated to western lands to own land for their very first time, and to farm it. Jefferson sent out the Lewis and Clark Expedition to explore the newly purchased land in hopes of expanding even further West and to lay claim to the contested Oregon Territory bordering the Pacific.  

Westward Expansion

Most importantly, Americans began to envision the possibility of being a country that stretched across a vast continent, from ocean-to-ocean, and rich with all kinds of natural resources at its disposal.  No longer would America be a small republic huddled along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. More and more people began to feel that America was destined for greatness. 

Impressment & the Embargo Act of 1807

American merchants prospered for two years. By 1805, however, Britain and France were each trying to block the other from trading with the United States. British naval ships began stopping American ships to search for suspected British deserters. The practice of forcing people into military or naval services is called IMPRESSMENT. While some of the sailors taken were deserters from the British navy, the British impressed hundreds of native-born and naturalized American citizens.

When Britain violated America's neutral rights, Jefferson banned some trade with Britain. After an attack on the Chesapeake, he took stronger measures. Congress passed the Embargo Act in December 1807. An embargo prohibits trade with another country. The act targeted Great Britain, but the embargo banned imports from and exports to all foreign countries. The embargo of 1807 was an economic disaster.

Multiple Choice

What is another word for IMPRESSMENT?

• borrowing

• volunteering

• saving

• kidnapping

Multiple Choice

Was the Embargo Act a success?

• Yes

• No

Multiple Choice

What effect did the Louisiana Purchase have on the United States in 1803?

• It led to the French & Indian War

• It led to the Battle of the Alamo

• It doubled the size of the United States, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River, and control of the port of New Orleans.

• It led to the War of 1812