Name: _____________________________________

Thomas Jefferson and the Louisiana Purchase

• In 1803, _____________ was losing its colony of Haiti to a slave rebellion. Looking to get out of North America completely, Napoleon Bonaparte, emperor of France, offered to ________ the Louisiana Territory.

• On April 30, 1803, President Thomas Jefferson bought the Louisiana Territory, which included the port of ______________, for $15 million.

• The Constitution did have any statements allowing Congress to _________ _________—thus _______ interpreters of the Constitution opposed the sale. Jefferson, however, wanted a nation of independent farmers, which made land necessary.

• The purchase _________ the size of the United States. • Soon after, Jefferson enlisted Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to explore America’s new

territory and reach the _________________________.

Think About:

• Should Jefferson have been allowed to purchase the Louisiana Territory? How could he JUSTIFY his purchase to opponents?

• What effects would this purchase have on people already living in that territory?

Unit 4 Handout #

8

Due (with stamp):

Thursday 2/9

Perspectives on the Louisiana Purchase COMPARISON, Part 1

Source #1 Source #2 Who is the author of this source? Who is the author of this source?

WHEN was this source written? (before or after the Louisiana Purchase?)

WHEN was this source written? (before or after the Louisiana Purchase?)

POINT OF VIEW: What does this source think/feel about the Louisiana Purchase?

POINT OF VIEW: What does this source think/feel about the Louisiana Purchase?

HOW DO YOU KNOW THIS? (cite AT LEAST 2 pieces of specific evidence) 1. 2. 3.

HOW DO YOU KNOW THIS? (cite AT LEAST 2 pieces of specific evidence) 1. 2. 3.

Comparing Perspectives on the Louisiana Purchase, Part 2 DIRECTIONS: Compare and contrast the two sources you analyzed today by completing the graphic organizer below:

Com

pare

& c

ontr

ast s

ourc

es o

n th

eir P

OIN

T o

f VIE

W o

n th

e Lo

uisi

ana

Purc

hase

CONTRAST (differences) (Generalize) However, these sources DISAGREE…

(Specific example) For example in Source #1 (Jefferson)…

(Specific example) But as an example from Source #2 (Tecumseh)…

COMPARE (similarities) (Generalize) These sources AGREE…

(Specific example) For example in Source #1 (Jefferson)…

(Specific example) And as an example from Source #2 (Tecumseh)…

Letters from Jefferson on the Louisiana Purchase

To General Horatio Gates. Washington, July 11, 1803. DEAR GENERAL

I accept with pleasure, … your congratulations on the acquisition of Louisiana

: for it is a subject of mutual congratulations as it interests every man of the nation. The territory acquired, as it includes all the waters of the Missouri & Mississippi, has more than doubled the area of the U.S. and the new part is not inferior to the old in soil, climate, productions & important communications. If our legislature dispose of it with the wisdom we have a right to expect, they may make it the means of tempting all our Indians on the East side of the Mississippi to remove to the West, and of condensing instead of scattering our population

With respect to the territory acquired, I do not think it will be a separate

government as you imagine. I presume the island of N. Orleans and the settled country on the opposite bank, will be annexed to the Mississippi territory. We shall certainly endeavor to introduce the American laws there & that cannot be done but by amalgamating the people with such a body of Americans as may take the lead in legislation & government. Of course they will be under the Governor of Mississippi. The rest of the territory will probably be locked up from American settlement, and under the self-government of the native occupants. To Captain Meriwether Lewis. Washington, November 16, 1803. DEAR SIR

The object of your mission is single, the direct water communication from sea

to sea formed by the bed of the Missouri, and perhaps the Oregon ; by having Mr. Clarke with you we consider the expedition as double manned, and therefore the less liable to failure; for which reason neither of you should be exposed to risks by going off of your line. I have proposed in conversation, and it seems generally assented to, that Congress shall appropriate ten or twelve thousand dollars for exploring the principal waters of the Mississippi and Missouri.

Source'1'

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Source'2'