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Home , Corps of Discovery, Pike Expedition

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SECTION 2 The TEKS 1C, 5A, 5E, 6E, 10A, 10B, 11A Purchase

What You Will Learn… If YOU were there... Main Ideas You and your family live on a small farm in in about 1800. 1. As American settlers moved Raised on the frontier, you are a skillful hunter and trapper. One day west, control of the Missis- sippi River became more im- at the trading post, you see a poster calling for volunteers to join portant to the . the . This expedition will explore the vast region 2. The almost doubled the size of west of the Mississippi River. You think it would be exciting—but the United States. dangerous. You might never come home. 3. Expeditions led by Lewis, Clark, and Pike increased Would you volunteer to join the Corps of Discovery? Americans’ understanding of the West.

The Big Idea UILDing ACKOU GR ND As the 1800s began, the United States Under President Jefferson’s B B leadership, the United States was expanding steadily westward. More lands were opened, and added the . settlers moved in to occupy them. Americans were also curious about the vast lands that lay farther west. Adventurous explorers organized expeditions to find out more about those lands. Key Terms and People Louisiana Purchase, p. 274 , p. 275 , p. 275 American Settlers Move West Lewis and Clark expedition, p. 275 By the early 1800s, thousands of Americans settled in the area , p. 276 between the Appalachians and the Mississippi River. As the region’s , p. 276 population grew, Kentucky, , and Ohio were admitted to the Union. Settlers in these states depended upon the Mississippi and Ohio rivers to move their products to eastern markets. New Orleans, located at the mouth of the Mississippi, was a Use the graphic organizer online to very important port. Its busy docks were filled with settlers’ farm take notes on the events leading up products and valuable furs bought from American Indians. Many of to the Louisiana Purchase and the these cargoes were then sent to . At the same time, manufac- exploration that followed. tured goods passed through the port on their way upriver. As Ameri- can dependence on the river grew, Jefferson began to worry that a foreign power might shut down access to New Orleans. “There is on the globe one single spot, the possessor of which is our natural and habitual enemy. It is New Orleans, through which the produce of three- eighths of our territory must pass to market.” —, quoted in Annals of America, Volume 4, 1797–1820

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The Louisiana Purchase and Western Expeditions

F o rt C la ts o p E R iv G e r L N B itte rroot E W R E T U R N BRITISH TERRITORY r I S 'S e A M tn s . u p e S rio r iv R k e L a R C L o lu E m b ia F o rt W N L a T U R M andan I k E S E C L A R K 'S R e n H D A OREGON COUNTRY a u k e A N g L a i r rio LOUISIANA D o ta C (C la im e d b y B rita in , h M n n c O S C i M s i Russia, Spain, and the PURCHASE L s S A A is e i R s M M IC H IG A N C U n ite d S ta te s ) k (Purchased in 1803) s K ip a ' e N

S n r s S p k e I e G o E TERRITORY i i r iv u X P a E

R r E L A i D k e N R a •• P I L T 4 0

T i R la I

t R O N t E i v e v e N

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R r A iv IN D IA N A OH e r O T TERRITORY r U.S. states and o e M a d v territories in 1804 lo r i C o r 14,110 ft. S t. C h a rle s R v e O h io Louisiana Purchase R i (4,301 m ) S t. L o u is N A Disputed by United States I KY H ••N and Britain A 3 5 P r C k a A Lewis and Clark's L n s L Expedition, 1804–1806 a s TN A R iv e A Santa Fe r P Pike's Expedition, I P 1806–1807 N A R e d R ATLAN TIC S iv e 0 200 400 Miles r M ISSISSIPPI O CEAN TERRITORY

3 0 ••N 0 200 400 Kilometers C SPANISH TERRITORY o O N N n T I R E D I t i P i o X n E E e n S W t ' N ew O rleans a E l G K P A C IF IC D r I a P S 75••W i n v d e O CEAN i d e G u lf o f M e x ic o 2 5 ••N HRW Middle School American History geography NewLouisiana Orleans was Purchase founded skills INTERPRETING90••W MAPS 80••W by theah06se_c07leg022a French in 1718. Over 95••W 85••W time, it2nd became proof: home 11/3/04 to 1. Location What major port city was located at the manyApproved: languages and 11/11/04 cultures. southern tip of the Louisiana Territory? 2. Human-Environment Interaction Why might Lewis and Clark have followed the River?

HRW Am erican History Spain controlled both New Orleans and Louisiana ah06se_c07m ap022a Louisiana. This region stretched west from Lousiana Purchase In 1802, just before handing over Louisi- the mighty Mississippi River to the great 2nd proof - 11/05/04 ana to France, Spain closed New Orleans to A pproved: 11/11/04 . Although Spain owned American shipping. Angry farmers worried Louisiana, Spanish officials found it impos- about what this would do to the economy. sible to keep Americans out of the territory. President Jefferson asked the U.S. ambassa- “You can’t put doors on open country,” the dor to France, Robert R. Livingston, to try to foreign minister said in despair. buy New Orleans. Jefferson sent James Mon- Years of effort failed to improve Spain’s roe to help Livingston. position. Under a secret treaty, Spain agreed to trade Louisiana to France, passing the prob- Napoléon and Louisiana lem on to someone else. One Spanish officer France was led by Napoléon (nuh-poh-lee-uhn) expressed his relief. “I can hardly wait to leave Bonaparte, a powerful ruler who had con- them [the Americans] behind me,” he said. quered most of Europe. He wished to rebuild Reading Check Analyzing Information France’s empire in North America. Why was New Orleans important to settlers in the Napoléon’s strategy was to use the French western regions of the United States? colony of Haiti, in the Caribbean, as a supply

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base. From there he could send troops to Loui- Livingston and Monroe knew a bargain siana. However, enslaved Africans had revolted when they saw one. They quickly accepted the and freed themselves from French rule. French offer to sell Louisiana for $15 million. Napoléon sent troops to try to regain control The news pleased Jefferson. But as a strict of the island, but they were defeated in 1802. constructionist, he was troubled. The Consti- This defeat ended his hopes of rebuilding a tution did not mention the purchase of for- North American empire. eign lands, and he did not want to expand the power of the federal government. He also Jefferson Buys Louisiana did not like spending large amounts of public The American ambassador got a surpris- money. Nevertheless, Jefferson agreed to the ing offer during his negotiations with purchase in the belief that doing so was best French foreign minister Charles Talley- for the country. rand. When the Americans tried to buy On October 20, 1803, the Senate approved New Orleans, Talleyrand offered to sell all the Louisiana Purchase agreement, which of Louisiana. roughly doubled the size of the United States. With his hopes for a North American With the $15 million in the French treasury, empire dashed, Napoléon had turned his Napoléon boasted, “I have given England a rival attention back to Europe. France was at war who, sooner or later, will humble her pride.” with Great Britain, and Napoléon needed money for military supplies. He also hoped Reading Check Making Inferences that a larger United States would challenge Why was the Louisiana Purchase important to British power. the future of the United States?

The Journey West

The time line and photographs you see here show some of the key events and places of the Lewis and Clark expedition. Read the journal entries to get an idea of what the explorers faced.

VIDEO Winter with A large keelboat and two the smaller boats were needed to Small boats helped the get the supply-heavy expedi- travelers move supplies tion moving west. across the .

May 14, 1804 August 3, 1804 October 1804 – April 1805 The expedition The first official council The expedition establishes to begins near St. Louis. between representatives of spend the winter. There, the explorers meet a the United States and Plains French fur trader and his wife, Sacagawea. Indians is held.

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Explorers Head West he saw. With Clark, Lewis carefully selected about 50 skilled frontiersmen to join the Corps Americans knew little about western Native of Discovery, as they called their group. Americans or the land they lived on. Presi- In May 1804 the Lewis and Clark dent Jefferson wanted to learn more about expedition began its long journey to the people and land of the West. He also explore the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps wanted to see if there was a river route that of Discovery traveled up the could be taken to the Pacific Ocean. to the village of St. Charles. Once past this village the men would receive no more let- Lewis and Clark Expedition ters, fresh supplies, or reinforcements. In 1803 the president asked Congress to fund Lewis and Clark used the Missouri an expedition to explore the West. To lead River as their highway through the unknown it, he chose former army captain Meriwether lands. As they moved upstream, a look- Lewis. Lewis then chose his friend Lieuten- out on the boats kept a sharp eye out for ant William Clark to be the co-leader of the sandbars and for tree stumps hidden expedition. underwater. When darkness fell, the weary To prepare for the journey, Lewis spent explorers would pull their boats ashore. They weeks studying with experts about plants, cooked, wrote in their journals, and slept. surveying, and other subjects. This knowledge Swarms of gnats, flies, and mosquitoes often would allow him to take careful notes on what interrupted their sleep.

The explorers paddled down the toward the The expedition relied on 24 Pacific in five canoes. horses to cross the Rocky Mountains.

August 12, 1805 September 1805 November 7, 1805 Lewis climbs the first ridge The expedition nearly starves. The expedition reaches a to the Continental Divide. Local peoples help the explorers. bay of the Pacific Ocean.

ANALYSIS skill Reading Time Lines On what date did the explorers reach the westernmost point of their journey?

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Primary Source a Shoshone from the Rocky Mountains, accompanied the group with her husband, a JOURNAL ENTRY French fur trader who lived with the Mandan September 17, 1804, Indians and served as a guide and interpreter. Sacagawea helped the expedition by naming Great Plains plants and by gathering edible fruits and veg- While traveling across the Great Plains, Meriwether Lewis etables for the group. At one point, the group marveled at the richness of the land. met with Sacagawea’s brother, who provided “The shortness . . . of grass gave the plain the horses and a guide to lead the expedition appearance throughout its whole extent of beauti- across the mountains. After crossing the Rockies, Lewis and ful bowling-green in fine order . . . this scenery, Clark followed the Columbia River. Along already rich, pleasing, and beautiful was still the way they met the powerful Nez Percé. farther heightened by immense herds of Buffaloe, Like the Shoshone, the Nez Percé pro- and Antelopes which we saw in every vided the expedition with food. At last, in November 1805, Lewis and Clark reached direction feeding on the hills and plains. I do not the Pacific Ocean. The explorers stayed in the think I exaggerate when I estimate the number Pacific Northwest during the rough winter. of Buffalo which could be compre[hend]ed at one In March 1806 Lewis and Clark set out on view to amount to 3000.” the long trip home. —Meriwether Lewis, quoted in Original Journals of the Lewis and Lewis and Clark had not found a river route Clark Expedition, edited by Reuben Bold Theraites across the West to the Pacific Ocean. But they ANALYSIS had learned much about western lands and skill ANALYZING PRIMARY SOURCES paths across the Rockies. The explorers also What did Lewis find so impressive about the Great Plains? established contact with many Native Ameri- can groups and collected much valuable infor- Insects were not the only cause of sleep- mation about western plants and animals. lessness for the Corps of Discovery. As weeks passed without seeing any Native Ameri- Pike’s Exploration cans, the explorers wondered what their first In 1806 a young army officer named encounter would be like. Zebulon Pike was sent on another mission to the West. He was ordered to find the start- Contact with Native Americans ing point of the Red River. This was impor- During the summer of 1804 the Corps of tant because the United States considered Discovery had pushed more than 600 miles the Red River to be a part of the Louisiana upriver without seeing any Native Ameri- Territory’s western border with . cans. But when the men spotted huge buf- Heading into the Rocky Mountains, in falo herds in the distance, they guessed that present-day , Pike tried to reach Indian groups would be nearby. Many Indi- the summit of the mountain now known an groups depended on the buffalo for food, as Pikes Peak. In 1807 he traveled into clothing, and tools. Spanish-held lands until Spanish cavalry Lewis used interpreters to talk to the arrested him. They suspected Pike of being leaders of each of the peoples they met. He a spy. When he was finally released, he told them that the United States now owned returned to the United States and reported the land on which they lived. Yet the explor- on his trip. Despite his imprisonment, he ers relied on the good will of the people praised the opportunities for doing business they met. Sacagawea (sak-uh-juh-wee-uh), with the Spanish in the Southwest. Pike’s

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linking TO Today

The Louisiana Purchase Natural Resources oil, natural gas, coal, gemstones, copper, iron ore, lead, zinc, When the Corps of Discovery headed west in 1804, an estimated silver, limestone, sulphur, diamonds, helium 30 million buffalo roamed the plains alongside 97,000 people, mostly Major Agricultural and Livestock Production Native Americans. Since that time the numbers have reversed. Today rice, cattle, chicken, hogs, corn, wheat, nearly 40 million people call the lands of the Louisiana Purchase home. sugarcane, cotton, dairy products, hay In contrast, the buffalo, which had been driven nearly to extinction by the late 1800s, has recovered to a population NH of approximately 15,000 in the wild. WA VT ME MT ND MA OR MN ID WI NY SD MI RI WY PA CT IA NJ NE OH DE IN NV IL MD UT WV CO VA CA KS MO KY NC TN Louisiana Purchase OK SC AZ NM AR GA MS AL TX LA FL ANALYSIS skill Analyzing Information Other than agricultural goods, what types of valuable resources are found in the former Louisiana Purchase?

ah06se_c07scl005ba report offered many Americans their first Louisiana Purchase Locator S ummary and preview The LouisianaMiddle School -– American History description of the Southwest. HRW Purchase nearly doubled the size of the F1 proof: 10/29/04 Approved: 11/11/04 Reading Check Supporting a Point of View United States. In the next section you will What would you do if you were Pike and found learn about increasing tensions between yourself in Spanish territory? the United States and Great Britain.

Section 2 Assessment ONLINE QUIZ Reviewing Ideas, Terms, and People Critical Thinking 1. a. Identify What new states were added to 4. Sequencing Review your notes on the Louisiana the Union by the early 1800s? What happened in Purchase. Then copy the graphic organizer below 1803 that changed the nation dramatically? and use it to rank the three most important effects of b. Explain Why were New Orleans and the Missis- the Louisiana Purchase, from most important to least sippi River important to settlers in the West? important, and explain why you chose that order.

2. a. Recall What two reasons did Napoléon have for Importance Why selling Louisiana to the United States? 1. b. Summarize Why was the Louisiana Purchase 2. important to the national security and stable 3. economy of the United States? c. Predict What are some possible results of Focus on Writing ­expansion into the Louisiana Purchase? 3. a. Describe What areas did the Lewis and Clark 5. Gathering Information about a Person’s Actions expedition and the explore? Make a list of Jefferson’s actions—the ones that b. Draw Conclusions Why were Meriwether would put him on that top-ten list. Add any new Lewis and William Clark chosen to lead the character traits you have discovered. ­exploration of the Louisiana Purchase?

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