Impact of the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark Expedition

The Louisiana Purchase happened in 1803 when Thomas Jefferson purchased the Louisiana Territory from the French for fifteen million dollars. The Louisiana Territory extended from the Mississippi River in the east to the Rocky Mountains in the west and from the Canadian border in the north to the Gulf of Mexico in the south. I believe that there were just as many disadvantages to the Louisiana Purchase for President Thomas Jefferson as there were advantages. The advantages were that the purchase removed France from North America, doubled the size of America, allowed the United states to acquire more fertile land, and gain control of the Mississippi River and New Orleans. The disadvantages were that America had to defend a country that was doubled in size, they had to supervise how Americans settled the new land, deal with more Native Americans, and the purchase was against Jefferson's beliefs.

The Louisiana Purchase was the largest land transaction for the United States, and the most important event of President Jefferson's presidency. Jefferson arranged to purchase the land for $11,250,000 from Napoleon in 1803. This land 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 proved Jefferson had expansionist dreams by doubling the size of the United States. Jefferson believed that the republic must be controlled by ambitious, independent, property-holding farmers, who would form

The exploration of Lewis and Clark into the Louisiana Purchase had a great impact on the United States. During the exploration, they encountered Native American tribes, who exchanged items with them, and new species of plants and animals.

At the commencement of the 17th century, successions of westward expansion had already begun to take place. In 1803, Thomas Jefferson, who was president at the time, purchased the Louisiana territory from France. Several citizens did support Jefferson’s purchase in virtue of the many

The Louisiana Purchase was a beneficial impact to the United States. In 1803 during Thomas Jefferson's presidency

Thomas Jefferson faced a multitude of complications and benefits throughout the endeavor of the Louisiana Purchase. The Louisiana Purchase is highly regarded as the greatest achievement of American expansion since the establishment of the country. This transaction between France and America gave the necessary requirements to recover and even advance the weak U.S. economy. America paid France $15 million for an estimated 800,000 acres of land; making this the largest land deal in history. Despite the many advantages that the Louisiana Purchase had to offer, Thomas Jefferson, the current president of the time faced many conflicts in the process of retrieving the land. The whole ordeal offered a combination of advantages and disadvantages that spanned from political, financial, and philosophical.

President Jefferson’s major personal moral dilemma was actually purchasing the territory of louisiana from the french. Jefferson was a strong Democratic-Republican. This party was founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, This party was created in opposition of the federalist party which was led by Alexander Hamilton. The Democratic-Republican party believed that a strong central national government would deplete and completely rid the rights of states. The party strongly disapproved of the national Bank Of The United States stating that the bank was taking away power that belonged to the states. Among many of the views of the Democratic-Republican the strongest belief was to strictly abided by the constitution, so when the opportunity arose to purchase the French owned territory, the constitution did not state whether the government could or could not acquire any new land

The Louisiana Purchase, was a purchase made between Thomas Jefferson and Napoleon Bonaparte for the middle section of the of modern day U.S. This section was originally owned by the French who sold it to Spain who made an alliance with France and gave it back. France, financially struggling, with british fleets headed towards the border, decided to sell approximately 530,000,000 acres of land west of the Mississippi River for $15 million( about 4 cents an acre).

The Louisiana Purchase was very big, it was about 828,000 square miles, which became 15 different states. The United States wanted more land because the lands started to have a lot of people on them, and people needed more land mostly to plant crops. They also wanted the land to get larger, so the best way was to expand to the west. In the early 1800's $15 million was a lot of money, but it was actually very cheap. The original price of $15 million worked out to around 3 cents an

In order to buy the Louisiana land, Congress had to make the decision themselves, a big decision for a government, this was an accidental show of government power, showing that the American government was not small and had a lot of power; this opposed Jefferson's view on interpreting the Constitution strictly. In the Constitution it states that Congress is not able to buy land. But Jefferson interprets this in a way so that the Congress can, actually, buy land. This shows a change on his views of the Constitution for gain. He previously states that you should interpret the Constitution strictly, but, he later changes this idea in order to buy the land, challenging his own views. Lastly, the Louisiana Purchase challenges his views on being a good president. By interpreting the Constitution as loosely as possible, he does not do what is

Has it ever occured to you how different the United States would be if Jeffferson never purchased the Louisiana Territory? Do you ever imagine the country separated into pieces and not one whole? Was it really important? In 1803 president Thomas Jefferson purchased the Louisiana Territory from Napoleon Bonaparte for $15,000,000. The Louisiana Purchase, which was 828,000 square miles included present day Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Some parts of Minnesota, North & South Dakora, Texas, New Mexico, Montana, Colorado, Wyoming, Louisiana, and parts of Canada which are now the provinces of Alberta & Saskatchewan. This doubled the size of the United States, and because they had no clue what was on this new land, The president sent Meriwether Lewis & William Clark to go on an expedition that lasted two years.

Although Thomas Jefferson came to power determined to limit the influence of the federal government, “foreign affairs dominated his presidency and pushed him toward Federalist policies” that greatly contrasted with his political philosophy (millercenter.org). The Louisiana Purchase was an example of large government using its federal power to initiate action. Jefferson was hesitant about the purchase since the whole transaction went against constitutional and presidential powers he believed in. However, the desire to purchase the territory “outweighed all of these practical and theoretical objections” (encyclopedia.com). While completing the purchase, Jefferson concerned himself with the future and best interests of America and his fellow companions. In a letter written to John C. Breckenridge, Thomas Jefferson confirms that he bought the land for the satisfaction of others when he says, “I did this for your good… I thought it my duty to risk myself for you.” (Thomas Jefferson to John C. Breckenridge 12 August 1803). When the purchase of Louisiana finished, there was no way for the colonists to really know what lay out there, “hence why an expedition had to first be sent out to map” and understand the land. If the land turned out to be “habitable and could eventually flourish”, this would be a big win for Jefferson (enotes.com). If, on the other hand, something about the land was damaged or was unlivable, the United States would be left with a large piece of territory that can't be used, and Jefferson's reputation would be shattered. Fortunately, the property was fit for human habitation and as the nation began to migrate to the land, America doubled in size and became stronger than ever. The increases in population, commerce, mining, and agriculture the Louisiana Purchase allowed worked to reinforce the nation as a whole. The

This event is what helped make this country what it is today. If Thomas Jefferson hadn’t purchased that territory, I don’t know what would have happened, but it probably wouldn’t have been good. The Louisiana Purchase helped our nation to understand and realize that growing would be good, and that it needed to happen. If this event hadn’t occurred then we wouldn’t have 50 states, we would only have a few.

To buy or not to buy, that is the question. Although it was the greatest “real estate” deal, the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 was perhaps one of the most controversial events in American History. President Thomas Jefferson, although he was a Founding Father and the primary writer of the Declaration of Independence, faced major opposition with his decision to purchase the Louisiana Territory from the French. Most of the opposition he faced, however, was domestic.

The Louisiana Purchase had many effects on the United States. The purchase made it clear to other countries that we would try to find a peaceful solution to any problems. Instead of fighting Spain and France for the land the United States found a peaceful solution. The purchase also showed us that we were missing something in our Constitution. Thomas Jefferson hesitated to buy the land because the Constitution did not say anything about buying land. Fortunately, Jefferson was convinced to buy the