1. The Louisiana Purchase

2. The Nation Looks West
By 1800, over 1 million Americans lived past the Mississippi River, most were farmers
Because there were no roads, most relied on the Mississippi River to move goods, making New Orleans a very important city
Spain controlled much of the land west of the river, so the USA negotiated a treaty with them for use of the river and land
At times Spain refused the treaty and charged heavy fines on goods, in 1801 Jefferson found out that Spain had secretly given Louisiana to France and he saw a chance to grow our borders and increase our economy

3. Buying Louisiana
In 1802, Spain ordered all ships off of the Mississippi River
James Monroe was sent to France to negotiate the purchase of New Orleans along with Robert Livingston
Upon arrival, Monroe found out that France was involved in a rebellion in Haiti, secretly France was almost bankrupt and England was planning to attack France, Napoleon needed money fast
France offered the city of New Orleans, all land that touched the Mississippi River and territories that extended beyond for $15 million
Even though Jefferson did not have the authority from Congress to make the deal, he did so anyway doubling the size of our nation in one day

4. Lewis & Clark Explore the West
In January of 1803, Jefferson sent Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to scout and map the new Louisiana Territory as well as look for Indians or river routes along the way
Recently the Pacific Ocean had been discovered and Jefferson wanted to find the quickest and safest route directly to the ocean. This would also open up trade with China and Japan
In 1804 Lewis & Clark left St. Louis Missouri for the Pacific. With 3 boats, 40 men and supplies their journey was not easy.
Battling currents, shallow rivers and curious natives slowed the journey down to over 3 times the amount of time they thought it would take.
Along the way, out of supplies and lost they run into a French fur trapper and his two wifes. One wife Sacagawea, a shoshone agreed to travel with them and help guild them to the ocean. Later in the journey, the expedition is almost attacked and killed by a war party in the pacific northwest. It turns out that the chief of the tribe was Sacagawea’s lost brother. The tribe stopped the attack and agreed to help Lewis & Clark.
Reaching the Pacific in the winter of 1805, the group made a fort survived the winter and headed back to St. Louis in March of The return journey only took 6 months.

5. Pike’s Expedition
At the same time Lewis and Clark explored the northern portion of the new US, Zebulon Pike was exploring a more southern route
Pike attempted to cut directly through the Rocky Mountains to reach the ocean
Along the way, he found the tallest mountain on his journey. Upon trying to reach the summit, the snow as so deep and temperatures were so cold that he never made it, today that mountain is called Pike’s Peak.
On the way home, Pike went through Spanish New Mexico, Texas and Arizona, he made detailed maps about the land and people. He was captured and held as a spy.
While Pike was eventually released and not charged as a spy, his findings did educate Americans about Spanish lands and made many Americans desperately wish to move to New Mexico and Texas, setting up a border dispute with Mexico and Spain many years later