NEW GOVERNMENT TEST TOMORROW MARKING PERIODS ENDS FRIDAY October 29, 2018 U.S. History Agenda: DO NOW: Multiple Choice Review NOTES #16: Why was the Louisiana Purchase important to the U.S.? NEW GOVERNMENT TEST TOMORROW MARKING PERIODS ENDS FRIDAY

Why was the Louisiana Purchase important to the U.S.? Notes #16

The Louisiana Purchase was France’s sale of the Louisiana Territory to President Thomas Jefferson and the U.S. (for $15 million) in 1803. Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte of France

By purchasing the Louisiana Territory, the U. S By purchasing the Louisiana Territory, the U.S. gained geographic advantages, such as full control of the Mississippi River and New Orleans. X  New Orleans 

The Louisiana Purchase also doubled the size of the U. S The Louisiana Purchase also doubled the size of the U.S. and focused the U.S. on westward expansion. U.S. explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark

Before this purchase occurred, strict interpreters of the U. S Before this purchase occurred, strict interpreters of the U.S. Constitution (like Jefferson) questioned the move. President Thomas Jefferson (1801–1809) 

This was because, in the Constitution, the president was not specifically given the power to purchase new land.

As a result, when Jefferson purchased the Louisiana Territory, he showed that he had modified his belief that the Constitution should be strictly interpreted.