Why Is The Louisiana Purchase Important In American History

In United States history, there were many events that occurred during Thomas Jefferson’s presidency. One of those events was the Louisiana Purchase. The Louisiana Purchase was when the president of the United States at the time, Thomas Jefferson, purchased the Louisiana Territory from France, who was ruled by Napolean Bonaparte. The Louisiana Purchase was important to the country’s history and growth for multiple reasons. The improvement of trading and the agrarian system along with the allowance of the Lewis & Clark Expedition are all examples of this.

Trading was, and still is, especially important to the United States. A treaty with the Spanish government with the U.S. ended when the Spanish government no longer allowed America to store goods in New Orleans. Jefferson originally

Being the president, Jefferson had wanted the recently gained land to be explored to be aware of what it contained. As a result, the United States' government provide money to Meriwether Lewis and William Clark for exploration. This was known as the Lewis and Clark Expedition which had taken place from May 1804 to November 1805 when Lewis and Clark explored the territory. Stated by Heather LeBlanc, “Along the way they charted trails, mapped river and mountain ranges, collected samples and wrote descriptions of unfamiliar plants and animals, and recorded facts about the Native American tribes they encountered along their journey.” The discovery of these untapped resources allowed the Americans to make profit by selling them to other country’s that did not contain them. The Lewis and Clark Expedition is taught in U.S. History, its significance is well known and important as one of the occurrences where the United States had grown, wealth and knowledge. Without the Louisiana Purchase, the Lewis and Clark expedition would have never occurred which would result in the world today not being the