The Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark Expedition
INTRODUCTION The Louisiana Territory was an object of great interest to European nations during their explorations explorations of North America This vast tract of land in the continent’s interior stretched from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico Explorations and scattered scattered settlements in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries gave France control over the river and title to most of the Mississippi valley In 1762 France ceded the territory to Spain By 1800 the young and expanding United States was pushing up against the eastern edge of the Louisiana Territory Great Britain held the territory of Canada to the north and Spain owned Florida to the south Spain allowed Americans to use the Mississippi River as well as the port of New Orleans at the river’s mouth In 1800 however Spain ceded Louisiana back to France leaving the United States uncertain about the future of transportation transportation and trade on the Mississippi and uneasy about a 4
5 INTRODUCTION Great Lake New British Territory Hampshire Vermont Maine Massachusetts New York Penn Rhode Island Connecticut New Jersey LOUISIANA PURCHASE Indiana Ohio Territory Virginia Delaware Maryland Territory Spanish Kentucky North Tennessee Carolina South Carolina Mississippi Territory Georgia PACIFIC OCEAN ATLANTIC OCEAN Spanish Florida 0 200 400 miles 200 400 kilometers on the role 0 Gulf of Mexico 2012 Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc At the start of the nineteenth century the states and territories of the United States were confined to eastern North America The Louisiana Purchase moved the border westward and doubled the country's size powerful French neighbor In 1803 President Thomas Jefferson dispatched ambassadors to Paris France to negotiate a deal for control of New Orleans They got much more than they bargained for when France offered not only New Orleans but the whole Louisiana Territory The Americans signed the unprecedented deal now known as the Louisiana Purchase On December 20 1803 the French flag was slowly lowered in New Orleans followed by the raising of the American flag The moment marked the transfer of the Louisiana Territory to the United States The Louisiana Purchase doubled
THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE AND THE LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION the country’s size adding to it an area larger than today’s Spain Portugal France Italy Germany the Netherlands Switzerland and Great Britain combined combined All or parts of thirteen states would be created from it The United States was immediately elevated in stature among world powers An expedition to study the land and hopefully find a navigable water route west to the Pacific Ocean began in 1804 Headed by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark the Lewis and Clark Expedition was a remarkable journey of nearly 8,000 miles 13,000 kilometers across North America and back Over two years the courageous group created maps collected notes and specimens of previously unknown plants and animals and named geographic locations after expedition members peers loved ones and even their dog They also made contact with numerous American Indian peoples who called the Louisiana Territory home The hardships including hunger dysentery boils tick bites and injuries were balanced by incredible encounters with unspoiled beauty The explorers were astonished by natural wonders and huge herds of elk antelope and bison Their discoveries discoveries opened a new frontier for Americans who were already looking westward for new adventures and opportunities 6
INTRODUCTION But Lewis and Clark’s journey would not have been as momentous if the United States had not just acquired the Louisiana Territory And that acquisition acquisition occurred because the world stage was precisely set for an extraordinary agreement The United States benefited greatly from the tense atmosphere in Europe during the rise of soon-to-be French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte 7
