ouisiana Yur chase The Louisiana Purchase was one of the largest land deals in history. In (803, the . United States paid approximately siS million dollars for over 800,000 square miles land. This land deal was arguably the reatest achievement of Mas Jeccersons residency. . Why did Jefferson feel this deal was so necessary? Because in (Bol, Spain and France signed a Secret treaty ceding Louisiana to France. France suddenly posed a potential threat to America. There was a fear that i€ America did not purchase New Orleans £rom France, tt could lead to war. Therefore, Jefferson sent enyoys to France to and secure its purchase. Instead, they | returned with an agreement to buy the entire Louisiana Territory. America did not have, the money to pay the slS million outright so they instead borrowed the money from Great Britain at Gx interest. With the purchase of this new territory, the land area of America nearly doubled. ftowever, the exact southern and western boundaries were not defined in the urchase. oe Cine Ut ‘to deal with in to work ou e Specific details of these boundaries. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark led a small expeditionary group os the Corps eee into the rifory. they are just e inning of America’s fastination ith exploring the west, ther or not America ha: Manifest Destiny’ to span from ‘sea to sea’ as was often the rallying cry of the early to. mid (9th century SCO_. Questions Which President closed the deal on the Louisiana Purchase? 2. Why did the President feel it necessary to purchase this large tract of land? 3. What did this tract of land cost the United States? 4. Who did the President send to discover this new land? eee)Lewis avd Clark When Thomas Jefferson dispatched Lewis and Clark to find a water route across North America and explore the uncharted West, he expected they'd encounter woolly mammoths, enirting volcanoes, and a mountain of pure Salt. What ‘they found was no less surprising. . . They were accompanied by a fifteen— ear—old Shoshone Indian woman, Sacagawea, he wife of a French-Canadian fur trader. ‘ter crossing the Rocky Mountains, the expedition reached the Pacitic Ocean in the area of present—day Oregon which lay beyond the nation’s new boundaries) in November (60S. They returned in (806, bringing with them an immense amount of information about the region as well as numerous plant and animal specimens. Reports about geography, plant and animal Wie, and Indian cultures filled their daily journals. Atthough Lewis and Clark failed to ind a commercial route to Asia, t| demonstrated the possibility of overland avel to the Pacific coast. They ane Native mericans in the trans—Mississippi West accustomed to dealing with European traders and already connected to global markets. The Success of their journey helped to strengthen the idea that Untted States territory was destined to reach all the way to the Pacific.Lewis aud Clark t Nati im hel Mat sath eon tt 2. What were Lewis and Clark hoping to Find? 3. What did Lewis and Clark write in their daily journals?