The Louisiana Purchase was the most influential and important land purchases in American history. The acquired land in this historical purchase proved to far outweigh what most Americans at the time could imagine. The Louisiana Purchase more than doubled the size of the United States, and lead to many great discoveries and societal benefits. Some of the major and most prominent ways that the Louisiana Purchase influenced the evolution of American were the expeditions of Louis and Clark on the newly acquired westward territory, increase in the countries resources, which in turn increased in trade and resulted in a richer, more economically stable country, and it also played a very pivotal role in the relationship with African Americans, which still is remembered and prevalent in today's society.
With the Louisiana Purchase (1803), the United States more than doubled its size. Now that the U.S. was in control of all of the new territory, Americans were free to roam and explore the newly acquired lands. Not to long after the purchase, President Thomas Jefferson had the U.S. Congress provide $2500, "to send intelligent officers with ten or twelve men, to explore even to the western ocean" (www.wikipedia.org). The main objectives of the crew were to study the western terrain, Indian tribes, geology, botany, and wildlife in the Louisiana territory. Another objective of the crew was to evaluate the interference of British and French trappers who were already well established in the newly
purchased territory. Meriwether Lewis (depicted on the left) was selected
by Jefferson to lead the expedition, and Lewis then selected William Clark (depicted on the right of page two) as his partner.
The expedition of Lewis and Clark offi...
... middle of paper ...
...ld have prevailed regardless of the Louisiana Purchase, I strongly support the idea that the demand and need for slavery was increased massively as a result of the Louisiana Purchase.
As you can see, the Louisiana Purchase played some very pivotal roles in the evolution of the United States. I believe strongly, as do many historians, that there is several direct links to the Louisiana Purchase in regards to extremely important aspects of American history and evolution of the country. Some of these links include the expeditions of Louis and Clark, increase in the countries resources, a more economically stable country, African American relationships, and slavery. The Louisiana Purchase had such a major impact on America, that if the acquisition had never occurred, it would be near impossible to speculate what American culture, society, and life would be like today.
This was something that was really important for trade and the extension to westward. In the 1800s, the Louisiana Purchase is still considered the most important occurrence in the westward being spread out of the U.S. and is a trial to include a different ethnic group. This was the starting point of the encounter with multi-ethnicity boarders. The Louisiana Purchase the way that the nation used to be and had a intense result on what the nation would become later on. The new regions of the purchase demonstrated a notable obstacle to the essentially Anglo-Protestant, young nation known as America. The more south part of the purchase was in result an overseas region. Many the people residing there's origin was African, Mediterranean, and Caribbean. Most of them had a divergent viewpoint of race, law, and government. Admittedly the Louisiana Purchase began the nation's experience with a variety of races that went on and on across the next couple centuries and is still going on to this
Jefferson recognized that the purchase would be “beyond constitutional,” (Jefferson) but his desire to expand America undermined his “legal scruples” (book). The Republicans and Thomas Jefferson supported the acquisition, because it was favorable to the “immediate interests of” the “western citizens” (book). The also believed it would create a more safe and peaceful environment, in a way that would separate French and American authorities. The federalists on the other hand, disagreed with the treaty for various reasons. They were worried that westward expansion would increase wages on the Atlantic coast by “reducing and lowering the value of real estate in their region” (book). The federalists knew that the states to that would be created from the new land would be settled by Jeffersonian Republicans, ultimately establishing a stronger Republican foothold in the country. Despite the feuds between the two groups, the Senate ratified the treaty with a vote of twenty-six to six, and on December 20, 1803, America took possession of the Louisiana
...ion with the purchase of the Louisiana Territory in 1803, and furthered it with the expedition. Some instant ramifications were present after the expedition: it led to the northern plains fur trade from 1806-1812 that came out of Lewis and Clark’s focus on improving trade. 33 In a broader sense, the expedition promoted further expansion goals for the United States as a whole later on in American history. The idea of manifest destiny later on in the 19th century reflects a continued goal of the United States to expand. Thus, the “land hungry” attitude that Jefferson himself exhibited went on to influence later American goals of expansion out west. Lewis and Clark’s expedition thus was only the beginning, as it was the first American expedition out last, but nevertheless was surely not the last based on the benefits that the United States reaped after its completion.
While their means of land acquisition differed, both Jefferson and Polk emphasized American expansion during their presidencies, obtaining extensive swathes of North American territory. In 1803, Jefferson’s administration finalized an agreement with France to purchase the Louisiana Territory, a large portion of central North America stretching from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains. Thirty years later, this region contained several states and territories, and pioneers forged even further west, seeking new homes in the distant frontier. Obstacles remai...
The Louisiana purchase was a very significant event in the United States of America that changed the country we live in today. Since, “1762, Spain had owned the territory of Louisiana, between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains” (Office of the Historian). This purchase led to many great things due to the French now having possession over it. Even though the French sold major land in the Louisiana Purchase, the money gained by France and the land acquired by America was a win for both sides of the deal.
result of this purchase, the U.S. population was able to expand and increase. The Federalist favored the sale of large land parcels to wealthy speculators instead of small parcel sales to farmers and contributed to the inflation of land values. Federalists were in control so they could determine anything that they wanted as far as the land goes. Thomas Jefferson was aloud to spend 10 million dollars on the Louisiana Purchase. However, he spent 15 million dollars putting the US in a 5 million dollar debt. “In a government which is founded by the people, who possess exclusively th...
The Louisiana Purchase was the most important event of President Thomas Jefferson's first Administration. In this transaction, the United States bought 827,987 square miles of land from France for about $15 million. This vast area lay between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains, stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to the Canadian Border. The purchase of this land greatly increased the economic resources of the United States, and cemented the union of the Middle West and the East. Eventually all or parts of 15 states were formed out of the region. When Jefferson became president in March 1801, the Mississippi River formed the western boundary of the United States. The Florida's lay the south, and the Louisiana Territory to the west. Spain owned both these territories.
The changes will be no less profound for European Americans. President Jefferson's orders were far-reaching. While Lewis and Clark did not discover a Northwest Passage or start the western fur trade or overland immigration, they certainly influenced the latter two movements. They provided valuable information about the topography, the biological sciences, the ecology, and ethnic and linguistic studies of the American Indian. The mysteries of the vast area known as the Louisiana Purchase quickly disappeared after Lewis and Clark.
The United States saw its territory more than double in the first three decades of the 19th century. Bursting with nationalist fervor, an insatiable desire for more land, and a rapidly increasing population, the western frontiers of the United States would not remain east of the Mississippi. The eventual spread of the American nation beyond the Mississippi into Native and French land, referred to as “Manifest Destiny” by John O’Sullivan, was rationalized as a realization of their God given duty. The Louisiana Purchase set the precedent for unrestricted westward expansion in America, and allowed for others to follow in his footsteps. Characterized by racist overtones, a lack of the “consent of the governed, and ethnic cleansing, there is no valid distinction between this American continental expansion and the international expansion sought by Europe in the late 19th and 20th centuries, and is clearly imperialist in nature.
Though initially his decision was criticized, Thomas Jefferson 's pursuit of the Louisiana Purchase doubled the size of the United States, as well as impacted the economy, religion, and race of the nation.
On December 20, 1803, the Louisiana Purchase was finalized, which resulted in the transfer of power over the territory from France to the United States. The Louisiana Purchase (1803) served as the catalyst for Westward Expansion in American society. Furthermore, it was an examination of conscience for President Thomas Jefferson, as he grappled with the constitutionality of an acquisition of this magnitude. In addition to this, the Louisiana Purchase (1803) transformed America into the industrial and agricultural giant it has become. Had it not been for the Louisiana Purchase (1803), America as we know it today would not exist.
The Louisiana Purchase was the purchase of the Louisiana Territory by the United States from France in 1803. This purchase encompassed present day Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska as well as large portions of Texas, New Mexico,
The Louisiana Purchase of 1803 started the Westward Expansion. There were many benefits from the purchase for the US that the French didn’t realize before they sold it. The purchase gave the US access to the Mississippi river which allowed for expansion of river trade to the North and South from the center of the US. The port city of New Orleans was bought by the US and its prosperity benefited the US greatly. The US sent Louis and Clark west to investigate the purchase. They were secretly told to lay claim on any and all land they come across. It was evident, after days of being lost and unable to communicate with natives, that they need an interpreter. Sacagawea, who spoke 5 tribal languages as well as French, was the answer to a safe and successful journey. Her presence signified that they were not a war party because they had a woman with them. During this time women didn’t travel in war parties. Her bearing a child further signified a peaceful trade party. Historians believe that without Sacagawea, Louis and Clark never would have been able to explore the West in the manor they did.
The expansion of the west happened in a lot of places west of the Mississippi. One of the most important setting was the Louisiana Purchase which was bought in 1803, the 828,000 square miles of land nearly doubled the size of the U...
President Jefferson was instrumental in the Louisiana Purchase, which secured an area extending from Canada to the Gulf and the Mississippi to the Rockies, for fifteen million dollars. This purchase also led to the planning and organization of the Lewis and Clark expedition. However, the argument over whether or not Florida was included in the Louisiana Purchase caused many sarcastic attacks on Thomas Jefferson from members of congress.