Section 2 – pg 188 The Louisiana Purchase and Lewis and Clark Chapter 5 Section 2 – pg 188 The Louisiana Purchase and Lewis and Clark

The Nation Looks West Pg 188 - 189 The amount of westward settlers increased after the US won independence By 1800, more than 1 million settlers lived between Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River

Pg 188 - 189 Most settlers were farmers who relied on the Mississippi river to ship their crops to the port at New Orleans Spain, who controlled the Mississippi River and New Orleans, threatened to close the port to Americans In 1795 the US negotiated a treaty with Spain called the Pinckney Treaty Guaranteed the American’s right to ship their goods down the Mississippi to New Orleans where they could be stored until they were transferred a ocean going ship for the journey east

Pg 188 - 189 In 1801, Jefferson discovered that Spain had secretly given New Orleans and the rest of its Louisiana Territory to France This scared Jefferson b/c France’s dictator was already trying to conquer Europe and he might try to establish dominance in America Also American expansion westward would be block as long as Napoleon owned the Mississippi River

The Louisiana Purchase Pg 189 The Louisiana Purchase Even before Louisiana was transferred to France, the Spanish withdrew the right of American’s to ship goods through New Orleans This violated the treaty set up in 1795 Many Americans demanded Jefferson go to war

Pg 189 A Surprise Offer Jefferson decided the best approach was to try to buy the city of New Orleans from France He sent James Monroe to France to make a deal for New Orleans and a territory to the east called West Florida

Pg 189 In Paris, the Americas discovered that a revolution had be led by Toussaint L’Ouverture had driven the French from their Carribean colony Wi/o Haiti as a base, it would difficult for them to defend Louisiana in the event of a war In addition, war was looming between France and Britain and Napoleon needed money Offered to sell them the entire Louisiana Territory for $15 million – abt 4 cents an acre

The Louisiana Purchase almost doubled the size of the country Pg 190 The Louisiana Purchase almost doubled the size of the country Mostly unexplored, but had millions of acres of fertile farmland and other natural resources We also now had control of the Mississippi River

Jefferson’s Dilemma Pg 190 Jefferson loved the deal, but was unsure if it was Constitutional for the president to buy land from a foreign country He reasoned that it was like making a treaty, which he did have the power to do The Senate approved the treaty and Congress quickly voted to pay for the land

Lewis and Clark Explore the West Pg 191 Lewis and Clark Explore the West In January 1803, even before the US had bought Louisiana, Jefferson convinced Congress to spend $2,500 on a westward expedition Expedition: a long and carefully organized journey Jefferson chose Meriwether Lewis to lead the trip, and Lewis chose William Clark to be his co-leader Were ordered to report back on the geography, plants, animals, and other natural features of the region Jefferson also wanted them to make contact with the NAs west of Mississippi and to find a waterway between the Mississippi river and the Pacific Ocean

Pg 191 Into the Unknown In the spring of 1804, Lewis and Clark left St. Louis and headed up the Missouri river Had 3 boats with about 40 men Most were Americans, some French Canadians, and one enslaved African American

Pg 191 In mid-July the party reached the mouth of the Platte River In early July, they met the first NA 3 weeks later, they reached the edge of the Great Plains

Pg 192 In late October 1804, the expedition reached the territory of the Mandan ppl, in what is now North Dakota They decided to stay there for the winter There they were joined by a French Canadian trader and his wife, a NA named Sacagawea She was a Shoshone who would travel with them and serve as a translator

Crossing the Rockies Pg 192 In April 1805, the party set out again By Summer they were in what is now Montana and began to climb the Rockies By August they had reached the Continental Divide of the Rockies Continental Divide: a place on a continent that separates river systems flowing in opposite directions The party was disappointed to see ranges of mountains instead of a river that would take them to the Pacific

The next day, Lewis met a group of Shoshone warriors Pg 192 The next day, Lewis met a group of Shoshone warriors When Sacagawea arrived to translate she found that the chief was her brother The Shoshones agreed to sell the expedition horses that were needed to cross the mtns

Pg 192 - 193 At the Pacific On the west side of the Rockies, they reached the Columbia river They stopped to build canoes for the downriver voyage Finally early November they saw the Pacific Ocean They spent the wet and gloomy winter of 1805 – 1806 near the point where the Columbia River flows into the Pacific Began return journey in March 1806 Took half a year to return

Pg 193 Pike’s Expedition Shortly before Lewis and Clark returned, another expedition left heading west From 1805 to 1807, the party, led by Zebulon Pike, explored the southern part of the Louisiana Territory Pike led his party west to the Rocky Mtns He tried to climb the mts but got 2/3 the way before he was forced to turn back Today this mtn is known as Pikes Peak

Pg 193 Pike’s return route took him into Spanish New Mexico Early in 1807, Spanish troops arrested the members of the party as spies They feared they were gathering info so the Americans could take over the region After several months in captivity, they were released and escorted back to the US Unfortunately, as the Spanish had feared, Pike’s report of this region spiked American interest