September 1806Lewis and Clarkreturn to St. Louis

November 1806Zebulon Pikesights Pikes Peak

Main IdeaThe Louisiana Purchase opened a vastarea to exploration and settlement.

Key TermsConestoga wagon, secede

Reading StrategyClassifying Information As youread, re-create the diagram belowand describe the areas that Lewis andClark, and Zebulon Pike explored.

Read to Learn how the United States expanded in

the early 1800s. how Lewis and Clark led an expedi-

tion to explore the Louisiana Territory.

Section ThemeGeography and History The purchase of the Louisiana Territorydoubled the nations size.

The LouisianaPurchase

Why did Americans risk everything they had to travel west? An English visitor, Harriet Martineau, observed: The pride and delight of Americans is intheir quantity of land. . . . The possession of land is the aim of all action . . .and the cure for all social evils. . . . If a man is disappointed in politics or love,he goes and buys land. If he disgraces himself, he betakes himself to a lot inthe West. . . .

Western TerritoryDuring the early 1800s, more and more Americans moved west in search of

land and adventure. These pioneers headed over the mountains into Kentuckyand Tennessee and the less settled areas of the Northwest Territory. Most ofthese pioneers were farmers. They made a long and exhausting journey over theAppalachian Mountains. Pioneers had to trudge along crude, muddy roads orcut their way through dense forests.

282 CHAPTER 9 The Jefferson Era

Explorer Region explored

Meriwether Lewis and William Clark

Zebulon Pike

Conestoga wagon

Preview of Events

Guide to Reading

1804 1805 1806 1807

October 1803Senate ratifies LouisianaPurchase treaty

May 1804Lewis and Clark begin expedition

283CHAPTER 9 The Jefferson Era

Settlers loaded their household goods into Conestoga wagons, sturdy vehicles topped withwhite canvas. For these westward-bound pio-neers, their two most valued possessions were arifle for protection and hunting and an ax tohack their way through the dense forests.

In 1800 the territory of the United Statesextended only as far west as the MississippiRiver. The area to the west of the riverknownas the Louisiana Territorybelonged to Spain.It was an enormous area of land, anchored to thesouth by the city of New Orleans and extendingwest to the Rocky Mountains. Its northernboundaries remained undefined.

Many of the pioneers settled down and estab-lished farms along rivers that fed into the upperMississippi River. They needed the river to shiptheir crops to markets. The Spanish allowed theAmericans to sail on the lower Mississippi andtrade in New Orleans. For the western farmers,this right was vital. The goods they sent down-river were unloaded in New Orleans and sentby ship to markets on the East Coast.

The French ThreatIn 1802 the Spanish suddenly changed their

policy. They refused to allow American goods to move into or past New Orleans. That sameyear, President Jefferson confirmed that Spain and France had made a secret agreement thattransferred the Louisiana Territory to France.

This agreement posed a serious threat for the United States. Frances leader, NapoleonBonaparte, had plans for empires in Europe and the Americas. Jefferson was alarmed. Hebelieved French control would jeopardizeAmerican trade on the Mississippi River. Jeffer-son authorized Robert Livingston, the new min-ister to France, to offer as much as $10 millionfor New Orleans and West Florida in order togain control of the territory. Jefferson believedthat France had gained Florida as well asLouisiana in its secret agreement with Spain.

Revolt in Santo DomingoNapoleon had recognized the importance of

Santo Domingo as a Caribbean naval base fromwhich he could control an American empire.Events in Santo Domingo ended Napoleons

dream of a Western empire. Inspired by the ideasof the French Revolution, enslaved Africans andother laborers in Santo Domingo had revoltedagainst the islands plantation owners. After fierceand bitter fighting, the rebels, led by Toussaint-Louverture (TOOSA LOOvuhrTYUR), declaredthe colony an independent republic. Toussaint setup a new government.

In 1802 Napoleon sent troops to regain control. The French captured Toussaint butcould not regain control of the island. By 1804,the French were driven out of Santo Domingoand the country regained its original name of Haiti.

Explaining Why was the MississippiRiver important to western farmers?

The Nation ExpandsWithout Santo Domingo, Napoleon had little

use for Louisiana. The French also neededmoney to finance Napoleons plans for waragainst Britain. The French believed they hadsomething to sell that the United States mightwant to buy.

French foreign minister Charles de Talleyrandinformed the American diplomats that the entireLouisiana Territory was for sale. Livingston andJames Monroe, Jeffersons new special represen-tative, were taken completely by surprise.Accepting the offer went far beyond what theywere authorized to do, but the deal was toogood to pass up. After a few days of negotiation,the parties agreed on a price of $15 million.

The Louisiana Purchase pleased Jefferson.The new territory would provide cheap andabundant land for farmers for generations tocome. He worried, however, whether the pur-chase was legal. The Constitution said nothingabout acquiring new territory. By what author-ity could he justify the purchase? Livingstonwrote from Paris, urging Jefferson to accept thedeal before Napoleon changed his mind. Jeffer-son decided the governments treaty-makingpowers allowed the purchase of the new terri-tory. The Senate gave its approval in October1803. With the ratification of the treaty, the sizeof the United States doubled.

284 CHAPTER 9 The Jefferson Era

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GeographyLewis and Clark

Jefferson wanted to know more about themysterious lands west of the Mississippi. Evenbefore the Louisiana Purchase was complete, hepersuaded Congress to sponsor an expedition toexplore the new territory. Jefferson was particu-larly interested in the expedition as a scientificventure. Congress was interested in commercialpossibilities and in sites for future forts.

To head the expedition, Jefferson chose his pri-vate secretary, 28-year-old Meriwether Lewis.Lewis was well qualified to lead this journey ofexploration. He had joined the militia during theWhiskey Rebellion and had been in the armysince that time. The expeditions co-leader wasWilliam Clark, 32, a friend of Lewiss from mili-tary service. Both Lewis and Clark were knowl-edgeable amateur scientists and had conductedbusiness with Native Americans. Together theyassembled a crew that included expert river men,gunsmiths, carpenters, scouts, and a cook. Two

The purchase of the Louisiana Territory doubled the size of theUnited States. Americans quickly set out to explore the regionand lands farther west.1. Place What geographical barrier did Lewis and Clark

have to cross in order to reach the Pacific Ocean?2. Region What rivers flowed through the Louisiana

Territory?

men of mixed Native American and French her-itage served as interpreters. An African Americannamed York rounded out the group.

The expedition left St. Louis in the spring of1804 and slowly worked its way up the Mis-souri River. Lewis and Clark kept a journal of theirvoyage and made notes on what they saw and did.

Along their journey they encountered NativeAmerican groups. One young Shoshone womannamed Sacagawea (SAkuhjuhWEEuh)joined their group as a guide. After 18 monthsand nearly 4,000 miles, Lewis and Clark reachedthe Pacific Ocean. After spending the winterthere, both explorers headed back east alongseparate routes.

Lewis and Clark

Return trip

Pike

Fort

The Louisiana Purchase and Western Exploration

When the expedition returned in September1806, it had collected valuable information onpeople, plants, animals, and the geography ofthe West. Perhaps most important, the journeyprovided inspiration to a nation of people eagerto move westward.

Pikes ExpeditionEven before Lewis and Clark returned, Jeffer-

son sent others to explore the wilderness. Lieu-tenant Zebulon Pike led two expeditionsbetween 1805 and 1807, traveling through theupper Mississippi River valley and into theregion that is now the state of Colorado. In Col-orado he found a snow-capped mountain hecalled Grand Peak. Today this mountain isknown as Pikes Peak. During his expeditionPike was captured by the Spanish but was even-tually release