EXPLORATION Louisiana and the West

The West in 1800 ◊West was considered land between the Appalachian Mtns and the Mississippi River ◊Farmers and merchants in the west were using the Miss. River to move products to markets, like New Orleans ◊France and Spain were secretly negotiating ownership of Louisiana ◊3 European countries claimed land on the Pacific coastline ◊Spain – California from San Diego to San Francisco ◊Russia – Along the coast all the way to Alaska ◊Britain – claimed land in- between

◊France was ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte ◊Wanted to colonize American territory ◊France successfully negotiated returning Louisiana from Spain ◊Nearly led to war when discovered by the U.S. ◊Spain had initially closed the Port of New Orleans to American shipping and westerners were calling for war ◊To avoid hostilities, Jefferson offered to buy New Orleans ◊France countered and offered to sell the entire Louisiana Territory France in North America

◊Multiple factors led to Napoleon’s offer ◊He was alarmed by America’s determination to keep the port ◊A slave revolt in the West Indies led to disastrous losses and he re-thought American colonization ◊France was in a costly war with Britain ◊Jefferson was torn by his belief of a nation of small farmers vs. his strict interpretation of the Constitution that did not grant the president the right to buy land ◊Jefferson purchased the land in 1803 for $15 million and it doubled the size of the U.S.

Corps of Discovery ◊Jefferson knew it was important to explore the new territory ◊Contracted Meriwether Lewis (a skilled hunter and military officer who Jefferson trained in geography, mineralogy, and astronomy) to lead the expedition ◊He turned to his friend William Clark (a skilled mapmaker and outdoorsmen) to assist the expedition ◊The volunteer force, Corps of Discovery, set out from St. Louis in May, 1804

Lewis & Clark Expedition ◊They were ordered to establish good relations with the Natives, describe the landscape, plants, and animals ◊The explorers used the Missouri River as their main route ◊At the first winter they stopped and built a small fort ◊While there they met many British & French-Canadian trappers ◊Sacagawea, with her French husband and their new child guided them, using her language and knowledge of geography ◊In Nov. 1805, they reached the Pacific and stayed the winter there to review, track, and map their findings ◊Their journey brought back a wealth of scientific and geographic information

Pike’s Expedition ◊Lewis and Clark explored the northern Louisiana Territory while Zebulon Pike left from St. Louis and explored the south ◊Spotted the Rocky Mtns from the Red River (the peak he saw would later bear his name) ◊Spain felt threatened by his expedition and arrested his group at the Rio Grande River ◊He and his men brought back valuable descriptions of the Great Plains and Rio Grande Valley

Effects of Exploration ◊Explorers of the West brought back tales of adventure as well as new scientific and geographic information ◊Lewis & Clark produced the first good and accurate maps of the Louisiana Territory ◊Exploration boosted interest in the fur trade ◊Pike inaccurately described the treeless Great Plains as a desert, which led Americans to believe it was useless to farming