The Louisiana Purchase and the Trail of Tears

What was the main reason Napoleon Bonaparte sold the Louisiana Territory to the United States?

• He needed money to fight wars in Europe.

• He wanted to establish a friendly relationship with the U.S.

• He believed the land was not valuable.

• He wanted to focus on expanding French territories in Africa.

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CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RI.5.3

CCSS.RI.5.8

How did the U.S. government justify taking over Native American lands?

• By claiming it was necessary for national expansion and development.

• By stating that Native Americans voluntarily gave up their lands.

• By arguing that Native Americans were not using the land efficiently.

• By suggesting that Native Americans were a threat to national security.

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CCSS.RI.5.3

CCSS.RI.5.8

Evaluate the impact of the Indian Removal Act on Native American tribes.

• It led to the forced relocation and suffering of many tribes.

• It provided Native Americans with better living conditions.

• It allowed Native Americans to maintain their cultural practices.

• It resulted in peaceful coexistence between Native Americans and settlers.

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CCSS.RI.5.1

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RI.5.3

Analyze the statement made by Captain Meriwether Lewis to the Osage people. What was the underlying intention?

• To promote peace and cooperation between Native Americans and settlers.

• To warn the Osage people of impending conflict.

• To assert U.S. dominance over Native American tribes.

• To encourage Native Americans to adopt European customs.

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CCSS.RI.5.1

CCSS.RI.5.3

CCSS.RI.5.8

CCSS.W.5.9A

What was the outcome of the U.S. Supreme Court case involving the Cherokee tribe?

• The Cherokee won, but the U.S. government still forced them to relocate.

• The Cherokee lost and were forced to relocate immediately.

• The case was dismissed without a decision.

• The U.S. government agreed to let the Cherokee stay on their land.

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CCSS.RI.5.3

What large area of land did the French emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte, sell to the United States?

• a group of thirteen colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America

• land west of the Mississippi River known as the Louisiana Territory

• a group of eight islands in the Pacific Ocean, west of the Americas

• the land of the three states that border the Pacific coast of the U.S.

What did President Thomas Jefferson do with the Louisiana Territory after it was purchased?

• He approved the Lewis and Clark expedition to explore the region.

• He sold it back to Napoleon Bonaparte for a much higher price.

• He returned it to the Native American people who already lived there.

• He left the land as it was because he had other things to focus on.

Read the following sentences from the text.

“Over many years, the U.S. government took steps to force their ways of life onto Native Americans. The U.S. government was focused on expansion. This meant taking over more Native American land. Some people today think the U.S. wanted Native American lands because it was valuable. It was good for farming and, in some cases, had minerals like gold. One thing the U.S. did to claim more land was try to force Native Americans to assimilate, or adapt to their ways of living. They thought that Native American assimilation would lead to the U.S. having power over all Native American lands because they would all end up sharing one identity as the U.S. instead of Native American tribes being separate nations. Another part of expansion was forcing Native Americans to move away from their homelands and onto land reserved, or set aside, for them. Most Native Americans did not want to change their own ways of living, and they did not want to move and give up their lands.”

What conclusion can you draw from this evidence?

• The U.S. government thought there was gold on Native American land but they never found where it was.

• Native American tribes were okay with assimilating some parts of their lives, like how they farmed and where they lived.

• Meriwether Lewis and William Clark helped the U.S. government and Native Americans come to an agreement.

• The actions of the U.S. government were focused only on U.S. advancement and not on what Native Americans wanted.

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CCSS.RI.5.1

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RI.5.8

How did the U.S. treat the Cherokee during the time of the Indian Removal Act?

• They fought a case against them in the U.S. Supreme Court but backed down after the Cherokee won the case.

• They had formal meetings with Cherokee tribal leaders and found something that would work for both the U.S. and the Cherokee.

• They forced the Cherokee people to build stockades so the U.S. Army could use them when they needed.

• They fought with them in legal courts and used violence to force them to move from their land in the Trail of Tears.

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CCSS.RI.5.3

What is the main idea of this text?

• The Louisiana Purchase expanded the size of the United States but led to a period of expansion for the U.S. where Native Americans, like the Cherokee, were treated poorly, forced to relocate, and lost many lives.

• Napoleon Bonaparte sold a large area of land west of the Mississippi River, called the Louisiana Territory, to the U.S. in the early 1800s because he needed money to fight wars in Europe.

• The U.S. Army strategically built stockades, which were prison-like camps, so they could hold Native Americans there as they forced them to leave their lands and move to new locations.

• In 1803, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark were assigned to explore the area of land called the Louisiana Purchase for the U.S. in what became known as the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

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CCSS.RI.5.2