Napoleon and LouisianaNapoleon was a previous leader of France that ruled from 1799 to 1815. One of his goals as a leader, was to recreate the French Empire within North America. His plan was to use a French colony in the Caribbean called Haiti, as a supply base. Then he would proceed to send in French soldiers from their to Louisiana. His plans were ruined when slaves rebelled and freed themselves from the French in the Haiti colony. He tried to recapture this colony by sending in his troops, but they were defeated in 1802. At this time, France was already in was with Great Britain. This ended Napoleaon's dreams in rebuilding the North American empire.
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Jefferson Buys LouisianaThe American ambassador, Robert R. Livingston, and his helper James Monroe, were both sent by President Thomas Jefferson, to negotiate with the French in buying New Orleans. Surpisenly, Charles Talleyrand, the French foreign minister at the time, offered to sell all of Louisiana to them. While this meeting was taking place, Napolean set his attention back to the war with Great Britain. He was in need of money to help his military needs, he also thought that if the French sold Louisiana to the U.S., the U.S. would challenge Great britain. He basically wanted to create another enemy for Great Britain. The U.S. agreed and bought Louisiana at a price of $15 million. President Jefferson approved of this action, but he was a strict constructionist. As a strict constructionist, he believe you should only follow what the Constitution says. The Constitution didn't say anyhting about buying lands from other nations. To add on, he disliked spending the public's money. Even with all his personal doubts in this purchase, he still believed this is what was best for the U.S. 1803, on October 20th, Senate approved of this offer. This caused the U.S. to nearly double in size!
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Lewis and Clark Expedition
The U.S. now has thousands of arces of untouched land ever since the Louisiana purchase and Jefferson wanted to learn more about it's environment and people. Jefferson asked Congress to pay for a expedition that will explore the west in 1803. The leader of this expedition would be a man called Meriwether Lewis, while the co-leader will be William Clark. Congress agreed to this request. When hearing about Congress's approval, Lewis immediatly started to prepare for his long journey. He began studying on how to survey and the types of organic life there is, with the help of other experts. He not only did this for his and his group's safety, but he will be able to take more detailed notes. Sometime in May, in 1804, is when the Lewis and Clark Expedition began. Their group gained a nickname, The Corps of Discovery. These men went up along the Missouri River to travel faster. They were in dangerous waters because it would often be difficult to look out for sand bars and hidden trunks that'll damamage their boats. They would never travel when darkness fell for obvious reasons; it'll be harder to see hidden tree trunks and rocks in the watrer. For most nights, the explorers were never able to sleep well due to swarms of insects, like mosquitoes, disturbing them. Not only that caused them to have sleepless nights, but they all worried about their first contact with Native Americans. Would they be a friend or foe?
Contact With Native Americans
In 1804, sometime in summer, the explorers discovered over six hundred miles worth of land upstream. Even then, they're was still no sign of the Native Americans. Eventually, these men noticed that there were large herds of buffalos nearby. They thought Native Americans would be close because Native Americans would often follow herds/create herds as a source as food and supplies. Luckily, Lewis had translators with him that told the Native Americans that the U.S. owns the land they're living on. One of the most helpful interpreters would be a woman named Sacagawea, a Shoshone. She and her husband, traveled along with them as guides. She helped by telling which fruits are and not edible, named vegetables and plants. This group even met her brother at some point, he offered this group of explorers his horses and a guide to help them across the Rocky Mountains. Once they were over the Rocky Mountains, they followed the Columbia River. While following the Columbia River, they met a man called Nez Perce. He gave the Corps of Discovery food. Finally, in the November of 1805, they reached the Pacific Ocean. The exploreres stayed here throughout the winter and began their trip back home In March, 1806. They didn't find a river that led to the Pacific Ocean, but they gained a bountiful amount of knowledge about the West established contact with the Native Americans, and knew about paths that crossed the Rocky Mountains.
Pike's Exploration
Another expedition was assigned to a man named Zebulon Pike in 1806. His goal was to find the beginning of the Red River. The reason why it was important to find the starting point of the Red River was because it's part of Louisiana's territory's western border along New Spain, Texas. While in the Rocky Mountains, he tried to reach the top of the mountain, which later named Pike's Peak. In 1807, he was traveling into Spanish-owned territory until Spanish officers captured him due to the suspicion of him being a spy. When he was released, he returned to the U.S. and told about his trip. Even though he was imprisioned, Pike offered Americans a detailed report of the Southwest for the first time.
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