LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION Introduction What was the expedition? Who is William Clark and Meriwether Lewis? Why was the expedition important?
The Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase was land in North America owned by the French and bought by the United States. Thomas Jefferson the current president in 1803 along with other U.S. ministers, negotiated with France for the purchase of the Louisiana territory. Not everyone agreed with the purchase since the U.S. was already in national debt; yet the buying of the Louisiana territory had more pros than cons. Once the territory joined the U.S., it would expand the USA land by twice its original size.
To many people it is a strong belief the Lewis and Clark expedition was a threat against the american indians and wildlife and caused the start of their removal, but I believe that what happened to the american indians had to happen in order to expand our country. The Lewis and Clark expedition explored the Louisiana purchase bought from the French in 1803 after the French failed their dream of a new empire. Current president Thomas Jefferson was asked by the French to buy a considerable amount of land for a very cheap price when the french had entered a rough patch of financial issues. The land was bought by Thomas Jefferson who had no idea what or really even who was living there besides the american indians. Thomas Jefferson decided to send explorers
Jefferson along with many of Americans wanted the expedition to start so he tried many times and made many sacrifices for it to be started. Thomas and Jefferson had tried many times to get the journey started to explore westward but everyone he sent before Lewis and Clark had died so he did not want to start another expedition but America needed to expand and needed the resources that could have been westward so he allowed Lewis to start the expedition. The north and the south had different views of what the new land westward could be used for, the majority of the south said, “They looked to west for new and cheaper lands, especially in the rich virgin soil beyond the mountains.” and the north also said, “western empire could serve as a vast reservation for the Indians displaced from the east of the river. There they could learn to farm and become civilized, so that they could be incorporated into the body of the politic.”
The Louisiana Purchase was the purchase of the Louisiana territory by the United States from France in 1803. The U.S. paid fifty million dollars and a cancellation of debts worth eighteen million dollars which averages to less than three cents per acre. The Louisiana territory included land from fifteen present U.S. states and two Canadian provinces. The territory contained land that forms Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska, portions of Minnesota, large portions of North Dakota; large portions of South Dakota, parts of New Mexico, the northern portion of Texas, the area of Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado. The Louisiana Purchase was smart move by the United States.
While the supporters of Thomas Jefferson believe that buying foreign land was necessary, those who are against him feel that what he did was unconstitutional. In the source, “Thomas Jefferson to John Breckinridge, 12 August 1803”, the text explains that what Jefferson did was allowed, as it had not mentioned that he couldn’t in the constitution. This controversy is huge, because some people believe that he did not have the right to do so. Jefferson made a point that it wasn’t mentioned in the constitution, so he decided to ratify it and pay for it. Some believe congress did not have the right to authorize this decision.
After Jefferson purchased the Louisiana Territory, he was very interested in what lay beyond the Mississippi. He hired Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to lead the expedition that began in May 1804. The expedition was known as the Corps of Discovery (Fay). Thirty-five men were involved in the expedition that extended all the way to the Pacific Ocean and back. This expedition led to the discovery of many unknown things that captivated the interest of eastern settlers seeking new territories.
Jefferson’s dilemma in the Louisiana Purchase In April of 1803 Thomas Jefferson was faced with many moral dilemmas in the process of buying the Louisiana territory. Though the price for the territory was beyond generous, Jefferson felt that by purchasing the territory he would be going against his beliefs that the constitution should be followed word for word. The constitution said nothing of the president having the power to purchase land from another government, or to use money of the states for the same purpose (“the moral dilemma”). Another problem was once the land was purchased, there was a fear that it could have been a waste since they had no way to know the layout of the land, and what it would be useful for.
The Louisiana Purchase was in 1803, and the land was previously owned by the French. The United States bought this land for $15 Million ($342 million today) and claimed it as American land. This purchase was important because the Louisiana territory was a “passageway” of trade. So anything that was shipped from other countries was going in and out of this land. There was a huge amount of trading and marketing so the United States was smart and took the Louisiana territory so there would be more “success” with trade.
Jefferson’s purpose was to have Lewis identify the environment of the land to the West such as the people, plants and animals. Lewis took this on this challenge and contacted William Clark in joining him on this expedition. Lewis and Clark immediately jumped into this expedition as they started their
Thomas Jefferson was able to accomplish the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Thomas Jefferson wanted to purchase the settlement of New Orleans from the French. Jefferson wanted this territory for new land to plant crops and raise livestock. At the time, the U.S Minster of France was sent by Jefferson to try and buy the land from the Napoleon. The Napoleon refused to sell at first, however in the same year ,1803 Jefferson and James Monroe fortunately arranged a deal with France.
The Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana purchase was one of the biggest land purchases in history. In 1803, the United States paid around $15 million dollars for around 800,000 square miles of land. This was arguably the greatest achievement of thomas jefferson’s presidency. The louisiana territory was a wild card in the european game of imperialism.
Manifest Destiny is known as the nations biggest attempt to expand westward and possibly to gain control of the world. The idea imperialism started off the idea of gaining power over the wen led to bloody battles and successful wars for the United states. The Louisiana Purchase was the first territory the U.S gained in 1803. James Monroe and Livingston were sent by the president to Paris to negotiate the sale.
Mr. Wilner reported that he continued to maintain the role of the stay home parent and care for the children while Ms. Leavitt has worked. He indicated that he was responsible to take them during the week he took them to school and to any doctor’s appointments, he helped them with their homework and cooked dinner for them. He indicated that Ms. Leavitt would come home from work and have three drinks of (vodka) every night. He stated it became a pattern, he reported that he would drink with her.
Having the land come at about four cents an acre wasn’t too bad, but because the vast size of the land that America was acquiring, it was not the best situation for the debt of America. Just this outcome alone will become one of the few reasons why the Louisiana Purchase could be viewed as one of the poor decisions made back in the
