1. The Jefferson Era The Louisiana Purchase
Chapter 8, Section 2
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2. Did You Know?
In 1997 the United States government decided to mint a new dollar coin featuring a woman. Some of the women nominated by citizens to grace the coin included civil rights activists Rosa Parks and Sojourner Truth, first ladies Martha Washington and Eleanor Roosevelt, and poet Emma Lazarus, among others. The winner? Sacagawea, the Native American woman who helped lead explorers Lewis and Clark westward.

3. Americans Settlers Move West
In the early 1800s, thousands of Americans settled in the
area between the Appalachians and the Mississippi River.
The pioneers loaded their belongings onto Conestoga
wagons and made the long, tiring journey over the
Appalachian Mountains to the area west of the Mississippi
River known as the Louisiana Territory.
As the region’s population grew, Kentucky, Tennessee,
and Ohio were admitted into the Union.

4. Americans Settlers Move West
The city of New Orleans located at the mouth of the
Mississippi, was a very important port.
The busy docks of New Orleans were extremely important
to the American farmers in the west and contributed
greatly to westward expansion.
Spain controlled both New Orleans and Louisiana.
Although Spain owned Louisiana, it could not keep the
Americans from moving into the territory.

5. A Secret Agreement
In 1802 Spain changed its policy and refused to allow American goods to move into or past New Orleans. Jefferson confirmed that Spain had transferred the Louisiana Territory to France in a secret agreement. The United States was surprised and fearful that Napoleon Bonaparte, France’s leader, wanted to increase his empire in Europe and the Americas.

6. Napoleon and Louisiana
France was led by Napoleon Bonaparte,
a powerful ruler who had conquered
most of Europe.
Napoleon wanted to build a world
wide empire and expand part of it
to North America.

7. Napoleon’s Plans
Napoleon had a plan to use the colony of Haiti (in the
Caribbean), as a supply base.
However, enslaved Africans had revolted and freed
themselves from French rule.
Napoleon sent soldiers to regain control, but they were
defeated in 1802.
This defeat ended Napoleon’s plans to expand to North
America.

8. The Nation Expands
The United States bought the Louisiana Territory from
France, not just New Orleans.
The French need money to finance Napoleon’s plans for
war against Britain, so while American diplomats were in
France, French foreign minister Charles de Talleyrand
informed them that the entire Louisiana Territory was for
sale.
A price of $15 million was negotiated for the territory.
With the purchase, the size of the United States doubled.

9. The Louisiana Purchase
The United States ratified the treaty with France in
October 1803 to make the Louisiana Territory purchase
legal.
Jefferson was interested in knowing more about the lands
west of the Mississippi River.
Jefferson sent Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to
explore the new territory even before the Louisiana
Purchase was complete.

10. Louisiana Territory

11. Lewis and Clark
Jefferson saw the expedition as a scientific adventure,
while Congress was interested in commercial possibilities
and places for future posts.
Lewis and Clark put together the Corps of Discovery and
left St. Louis in the spring of 1804.
Along the way they kept a journal of valuable information on people, plants, animals, and geography of the West.
After traveling nearly 4,000 miles in 18 months, they reached the Pacific Ocean.

12. Lewis and Clark --- Map

13. Contact with Native Americans
During the summer of 1804 the Corps of Discovery had traveled more than 600 miles up river without seeing any Native Americans. Lewis and Clark encountered the Native Americans when they came upon huge buffalo herds. Lewis and Clark used interpreters to talk to the leaders of each of the peoples that they met. One such interpreter was a Shoshone girl names Sacagawea.

14. Sacagawea
Sacagawea was the wife of a French fur trapper by the name of Toussaint Charbonneau. Sacagawea also helped he expedition by naming plants and by gathering edible fruits and vegetables for the group.

15. Finding the Pacific
After crossing the Rocky Mountains, Lewis and Clark followed the Columbia River. In November 1805, Lewis and Clark reached the Pacific Ocean. The explorers stayed in the Pacific Northwest during the rough winter and in March 1806, Lewis and Clark set out on the long trip home.

16. Zebulon Pike
Jefferson sent another expedition to explore the wilderness. Lieutenant Zebulon Pike led two expeditions into a region that is now Colorado. There he found a snowcapped mountain he called Grand Peak. Today it is called Pikes Peak.