Located off the Gulf of Mexico, New Orleans controlled entrance to the Mississippi River. And the Mississippi River controlled trade and transportation in the interior of North America. Jefferson did not want a foreign country controlling the fate and future growth of the United States.
In December 1803, the United States purchased France’s entire Louisiana territory. The deal included New Orleans and a vast expanse of land that extended west of the Mississippi River. It doubled the size of the United States.
Jefferson had long been curious about what might be found in those western lands. In the early 1800s, most Americans lived east of the Mississippi River. Jefferson appointed his secretary, Meriwether Lewis, to lead an expedition into the new Louisiana Purchase.
Lewis and his co-captain, William Clark, set out with the men chosen for their Corps of Discovery in the spring of 1804. Jefferson asked the men to look for a water route from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean. He encouraged them to learn about the Indigenous peoples and to note plants and animals. He also hoped the expedition would strengthen U.S. claims to the rich farmlands of the Pacific Northwest.
Americans knew about the Pacific Northwest because of its role in the North American fur trade. The trade had started between the Indigenous peoples and the first European explorers in the early 1600s. The pelts of fur-bearing animals in North America were turned into desirable warm clothing and hats in Europe. The trade developed into an enormously profitable industry. In their search for animals to meet the demand, fur trappers had reached the Pacific Coast. In 1792, American ship captain Robert Gray had sailed to the mouth of the Columbia River and claimed it for the United States.
This story is from the October 2023 edition of Cobblestone American History Magazine for Kids.
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This story is from the October 2023 edition of Cobblestone American History Magazine for Kids.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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Putting the Pieces Together
Americans needed to begin to put the past behind them, come together, and plan for the future in the spring of 1865. But Abraham Lincoln, the man best equipped to lead them and who had hoped to restore the country as smoothly and peacefully as possible, had been assassinated.
LAST SHOTS
The last Confederate forces in the Civil War didn’t surrender in the spring of 1865 or on a battlefield.
AND IN OTHER 1865 NEWS
A group of African Americans stop at the White House’s annual public reception on January 1, where they shake hands with President Abraham Lincoln.
A Plot to Kill President the
For several months, actor John Wilkes Booth’s band of conspirators had plotted to capture President Abraham Lincoln and hold him hostage in exchange for Confederate prisoners.
Let the Thing Be Pressed
In June 1864, Union Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant began a nearly 10-month campaign in Virginia.
HEALING THE NATION
President Abraham Lincoln took the oath of office for the second time on March 4, 1865.
A Helping Hand
The spring season is hard in any agricultural society. Plants and animals are too small to eat.
WAR SHERMAN-STYLE
As far as Union Major General William T. Sherman was concerned, the Civil War had gone on long enough.
PEACE TALKS
The fall of Fort Fisher made clear that the Confederacy’s days were numbered. Southerners were tired and hungry.
FORT FISHER'S FALL
Outnumbered Confederate soldiers inside Fort Fisher were unable to withstand the approach of Union troops by land and the constant Union naval bombardment from the sea.
