Chapter 8.2 Notes

Chapter 8.2 Notes

The Louisiana Purchase

American Settlers Move West

 $\cdot$  By the 1800s, thousands of American settled in the area between the Appalachians and the Mississippi river
   -As the region grew in population, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Ohio were admitted into the Union
      *Settlers of this region relied on the Mississippi and Ohio rivers to move products
   -New Orleans was an important port for trading
      *The docks were filled with farm products and valuable furs from Native Americans

Multiple Choice

What was the most important port in the West?

• Kentucky

• New Orleans

• Ohio

• Tennessee

    *Jefferson was worried that if he did not control the port then foreign nations would shut it down

  -Spain controlled both New Orleans and Louisiana
     *This region stretched west from mighty Mississippi River to the great Rocky Mountains 
      *Although Spain owned Louisiana, officials found it hard to keep Americans out of their area
   -Years of effort was not enough to improve the territory
        *So Spain signed a secret treaty with France to pass the Louisiana territory off to someone else.

Louisiana

 $\cdot$  In 1802, just before handing Louisiana over to France, Spain closed New Orleans to American shipping
     -Angry farmers worried what this would do to their economy 
         *President Jefferson as the U.S. ambassador to France to buy New Orleans
         *James Monroe was sent to help with negotiations
     -At the time France was being led by Napoleon Bonaparte
         *Napoleon was a powerful ruler who had conquered most of Europe

Multiple Choice

Who was the ruler of France?

• Thomas Jefferson

• James Monroe

• Napoleon Bonaparte

      *He wanted to rebuild France’s empire in North America and his plan included the colony of Haiti in the Caribbean

      *But before he could move forward a slave revolt happened and Napoleon had to help his people there
 $\cdot$  Due to the slave rebellion, the American ambassador’s got a surprising offer during their negotiations
      -When they offered to buy new Orleans, France offered to sell all of Louisiana 
         *Napoleon was at war with Great Britain so he needed money for supplies
        *Monroe and Livingston agreed to Frances offer to buy Louisiana for $15 million

Open Ended

Why is the purchasing of Louisiana so important for the United States?

      *Jefferson agreed to the purchase but it troubled him due to his political beliefs

Louisiana Purchase: the purchase of French land between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains that doubled the size of the United States

Open Ended

Why do you think Jefferson is struggling with buying the Louisiana Territory?

Explorers Head West

 $\cdot$  Americans new little about western Native Americans or the land
   -President Jefferson wanted to learn more about the people and land
      *More importantly he wanted to see if there was a river route that coil be taken to the Pacific Ocean 
 $\cdot$  In 1803 the president asked Congress to fund an expedition to explore the West
   -Leading the expedition was former army captain Meriwether Lewis and Lieutenant William Clark 
      *To prepare for the journey, the men spend weeks learning about plants, surviving and other subjects 
      *In May 1804 the Lewis and Clark expedition began 

Poll

Why did Jefferson want explorers to go West?

• see new land

• find a river route to the Pacific Ocean

• learn more about the Natives

Lewis & Clark Expedition: an expedition led by Meriwether Lewis & William Clark that began in 1804 to explore the Louisiana Purchase

 $\cdot$  Lewis and Clark used the Missouri River as a highway through the unknown land
    -It took weeks before the Corps of Discovery interacted with any Native American tribes
        *That changed during the summer of 1804, the Corps had move more than 600 miles 
         *On this leg of the journey, the Corps spotted huge herds of buffalo and they guess the Natives wouldn’t be far behind

*Lewis used interpreters to talk to the leaders of each of the groups they met

*Lewis informed the Natives that the United States owned the land 

-During the expedition, Lewis and Clark used a Native women named Sacagawea to help them navigate the land and people 

*In November of 1805, Lewis and Clark finally made it to the Pacific Ocean and in March 1806 they began the long journey home 

Multiple Choice

Where did Lewis and Clark reach in November of 1805?

• Atlantic Ocean

• Missouri River

• Pacific Ocean

• Mississippi River