Page 220 - American Stories, A History of the United States

States knew nothing of these developments. They were surprised, therefore, in April 1803 Louisiana Purchase U.S.
when Talleyrand, the French foreign minister, offered to sell the entire Louisiana Territory acquisition of the Louisiana 8.1
for only $15 million. The Louisiana Purchase doubled the size of the United States. Territory from France in 1803 for
$15 million. The purchase secured
The American people responded enthusiastically to the news. Only a few disgrun- American control of the Mississippi
tled New England Federalists thought the United States was already too large. Jefferson River and doubled the size of the 8.2
was relieved. The nation had avoided war with France. Nevertheless, he worried that nation.
the purchase might be unconstitutional. The president pointed out that the Constitu-
tion did not specifically authorize acquiring vast new territories and thousands of for- 8.3
eign citizens. To escape this apparent legal dilemma, Jefferson proposed amending the Quick Check
Constitution. Few persons, even his closest advisers, shared the president’s scruples. Did the Louisiana Purchase represent
Events in France soon forced Jefferson to adopt a more pragmatic course. When he a compromise by Jefferson in his 8.4
heard that Napoleon had become impatient for his money, Jefferson rushed the treaty interpretation of the constitution?
to a Senate eager to ratify it. Nothing more was said about amending the Constitution. Why or why not?

The Lewis and Clark Expedition 8.5

In the midst of the Louisiana controversy, Jefferson dispatched a secret message to
Congress requesting $2500 to explore the Far West (January 1803). How closely this
decision was connected to the Paris negotiations is not clear. Whatever the case, the
president asked his private secretary, Meriwether Lewis, to discover whether the
Missouri River “may offer the most direct & practicable water communication across
this continent for the purposes of commerce.” The president also regarded the expedi-
tion as an opportunity to collect data about plants and animals. He personally instructed

Watch the Video Lewis and Clark: What Were They Trying to Accomplish?

LeWis And CLArk When Thomas Jefferson purchased Louisiana from the French in 1803, Americans knew
very little about their vast new territory. The President chose naturalist Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, a
soldier and cartographer to lead a “voyage of Discovery” to explore these new lands. This stamp commemorates
the expedition’s 1804 departure up the Missouri River into the unknown West.
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