Wild, Wild, West: America Spreads Out

The Louisiana Purchase Their goal was to purchase the important port of New Orleans from the French. Jefferson had authorized them to spend up to $10 million on this purchase. President Thomas Jefferson sent James Monroe and Robert Livingston to Paris to work out a deal with Napoleon, the leader of France.

Louisiana Purchase Continued It was important for America to control New Orleans. This would allow us to compete more in the area of international trading. Fortunately for the Americans, Napoleon had just lost 50,000 soldiers putting down a slave rebellion in Haiti. (Most died of Yellow Fever) Napoleon now faced the possibility of another war with England. He decided to give up his plan to build an empire in the Americas.

The Greatest Real Estate Deal in History Livingston was amazed when Napoleon’s minister offered to sell, not only New Orleans, but the entire Louisiana Territory for $15 million. That was over 800,000 square miles of land for a little over 3 cents per acre! The New Nation had doubled in size practically overnight!

Louisiana Purchase Continued Congress approved the purchase. The area that would become the states of Arkansas, Iowa, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Wyoming was added to our country. However, since the area was basically wilderness, nobody knew exactly what we had just purchased.

Lewis and Clark In June, 1803, Thomas Jefferson appointed Captain Merriwether Lewis and Captain William Clark to explore the new territory. “The object of your mission is to explore the Missouri river, & such principal stream of it, as, by it’s course & communication with the waters of the Pacific Ocean, whether the Columbia, Oregon, Colorado or and other river may offer the most direct & practicable water communication across this continent, for the purposes of commerce.” --Thomas Jefferson

Lewis & Clark Expedition Goal Was it Successful? More than 300 years after Columbus they are STILL searching for the “Northwest Passage.” Create accurate maps of the Louisiana Territory. Collect and catalog new plant and animal species they find along the way. Nope, the Northwest Passage doesn’t exist. Lewis & Clark concluded that the Rocky Mountains prevented a water route to the Pacific. Yes, Clark was a very skilled map-maker. His maps were the first pictures of the American West. This is probably where they were the most successful. President Jefferson, a scientist himself, was especially fond of the specimens. He kept many examples at his home, Monticello. Today you can see them in the Smithsonian Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.

Lewis & Clark Expedition Lewis & Clark were also supposed to meet, identify, and count the Native Americans who lived in the area. They hired a French-Canadian man named Charbonneau as their guide and his pregnant Shoshone wife, Sacagawea, as their translator to the Native American people.

Sacagawea Not only did Sacagawea help Lewis & Clark with translating Native American languages, she also helped the tribes they met realize the travelers were on a peaceful mission. They did not expect attack since they were traveling with a Indian woman. She also rescued their journals when the canoe they were riding in overturned. Much of what we know about this journey today could have been lost with the journals.

The War of 1812 France had agreed to sell the Louisiana Territory in order to get more money to continue their war with Britain. The United States tried to stay neutral in this conflict but it became impossible in 1812. In 1810, France agreed to stop attacking American merchant ships. United States then agreed to trade with France. Many members of Congress were called War Hawks because they called for war against Britain

War of 1812 Go to Discovery Education to learn more about the Battle of Fort McHenry and the creation of the Star Spangled Banner. President James Madison (elected in 1808) asked Congress to declare war on Britain in 1812. Two years later the conflict was over and the United States was stronger and at peace.

Moving West After the War of 1812, Americans started to think about developing the new land they gained with the Louisiana Purchase. They built the National Road, which was the first road to connect the East and West. This road ran from Baltimore, Maryland to Dayton, Ohio. It helped farmers and trappers easily carry goods to ports and markets in the East.

Manifest Destiny Many Americans thought it was the United States’ destiny as a nation to expand westward from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans. As part of Manifest Destiny, America’s mission was to expand and spread democracy and freedom. New land is added to our country through treaty agreements. 1819: Spain gives up Florida. 1845-48: Mexican-American War ends and U.S. gains territory all the way to the Pacific Ocean. Including the states of New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and California. 1846: The territory that makes up the states of Washington and Oregon is added after a treaty with Britain.

United States vs. Native Americans Adding all this territory was good for the United States but very bad for the Native Americans. Settlers wanted to farm lands to the south and west, but these lands had been promised to Native Americans in many treaties between the government and the tribes. The Cherokee Nation tried to stop the United States from making them leave their homeland. They wrote their own constitution and challenged the taking of their land in court. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the state could not take away Native American lands but President Andrew Jackson refused to enforce the court’s decision.

Trail of Tears In 1830, the Cherokee and four other tribes were forced to move. The relocation of the Cherokee brought starvation and death. They called this journey The Trail of Tears because of their suffering. The Cherokee were forced to move to what was called “Indian Territory” This area is now the state of Oklahoma.

Wagons West! During the 1840s and 1850s thousands of Americans saw an opportunity to improve their lives. They packed up and headed west. The Oregon Trial was the most popular route to the west until the railroads were built.

Expanding Union The United States had been an independent nation for less than 75 years. During this time, the nation grew from 13 former British colonies to a large democratic nation made up of former colonies of Britain, France, and Spain. By 1850, there were 31 states and 5 territories in the Union. The population had increased from 4 million to 23 million.