The Louisiana Purchase

The Louisiana Purchase

American Nation 10.2

​Control of the Mississippi

• ​By 1800, almost one million Americans lived between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River

• ​With few roads west of the Appalachians, farmers relied on the Mississippi River to ship their wheat and corn

• ​First, they sent their produce down the river to the city of New Orleans

• From there, ocean-going ships carried the produce to ports along the Atlantic coast

​Mississippi River (continued)

​In 1795 Spain was in control of New Orleans

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​Spain sometimes threatened to close the port to Americans

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​In 1795, Spain agreed to let Americans ship their goods down the Mississippi and store them in New Orleans in the Pinckney Treaty

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​In 1800, Spain gave Louisiana back to France

​Napoleon

• ​French ruler Napoleon Bonaparte, had set out to conquer Europe

• ​Thomas Jefferson was worried he would also try to conquer North America

• ​Napoleon wanted to grow food in Louisiana and ship it to French islands in the West Indies

• ​Enslaved Africans in Haiti, led by Toussaint L'Ouverture revolted against French rule

• ​in 1804, Haitians declared their independence from France

​United States Buys Louisiana

​Thomas Jefferson wanted to buy New Orleans

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​He wanted American farmers to always be able to ship their crops

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​Jefferson sent Robert Livingston and James Monroe to negotiate the

purchase of New Orleans

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​They were authorized to offer up to $10 million

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• ​Livingston and Monroe negotiated with Talleyrand, the French foreign minister

• ​At first, Talleyrand showed little interest in their offer

• ​However, losing Haiti caused Napoleon to give up his plan for an empire in the Americas. He also needed money to pay for his costly wars in Europe

• ​Suddenly, Talleyrand asked Livingston if he wanted to buy all of Louisiana

• ​Livingston and Monroe were not authorized to buy all of Louisiana

• ​But, Jefferson wanted control of the Mississippi River

• ​They agreed to pay the French $15 million for Louisiana

​Was the Purchase Constitutional?

• ​Jefferson liked the deal to buy Louisiana but was not sure if he actually had the power as president to purchase Louisiana

• ​The Constitution said nothing about a President having the power to buy land

• ​In the end, Jefferson decided that he did have the authority to buy Louisiana

• ​He reasoned that the Constitution allows presidents to make treaties

• ​At Jefferson's request, the Senate approved the treaty, and the Louisiana Purchase went into effect.

​Planning an Expedition

• ​Few Americans knew anything about the Louisiana territory

• ​In 1803, Congress provided money for a team of explorers to study the new lands

• ​Jefferson chose Meriwether Lewis, his secretary, to head the expedition, or long voyage of exploration

​Lewis and Clark Expedition

• Lewis asked William Clark to go with him​

• ​about 50 men went with Lewis and Clark

• ​In May 1804, Lewis and Clark started up the Missouri River from St. Louis

• ​They traveled across the plains and met people of various Indian nations

• ​Sacagawea joined the expedition as a translator

• ​In the Rocky Mountains, Lewis and Clark corssed the Continental Divide, a mountain ridge that separates river systems flowing toward opposite sides of a continent

• ​Lewis asked William Clark to go with him​

• ​about 50 men went with Lewis and Clark

• ​In May 1804, Lewis and Clark started up the Missouri River from St. Louis

• ​They traveled across the plains and met people of various Indian nations

• ​Sacagawea joined the expedition as a translator

• ​In the Rocky Mountains, Lewis and Clark crossed the Continental Divide, a mountain ridge that separates river systems flowing toward opposite sides of a continent

• ​After building canoes, Lewis and Clark's party floated toward the Columbia River into the Pacific Northwest

​Pike explores the West

• ​Zebulon Pike explored the upper Mississippi River, the Arkansas River, and parts of present-day Colorado and New Mexico