The Louisiana Purchase: Expanding America’s Boundaries
Related Big Book Primary Source: Sequoyah, Inventor of the Cherokee Alphabet
(See the list in the back of each Life in the New American Nation Primary Source book for the primary sources included in that book.)
Reading for Information:
Content:
• Remembering Facts (written, oral, graphic): Bring in several local real estate ads from the
newspaper or the Internet. Discuss the ads and their content with the class. Assign students to work
with a partner to write a real estate ad for the Louisiana Purchase. The ad should include: the location,
price, seller’s name, and a description of important features. The ad should also contain a diagram or
illustration. Have students create the ads on a large piece of art paper. Ask each group to share its ad
with the class, then display it in the classroom or school hallway.
• In 1803, the United States purchased from
France 828,000 square miles of land
known as the Louisiana Purchase. This
purchase changed the landscape of America
and allowed settlers to move farther west.
This book examines aspects of the $15
million purchase and provides the specific
details of the history of the land as well
as the significance of this famous land
purchase. The book describes Lewis and
Clark’s exploration in 1804, which was
crucial in encouraging people to head west
and settle on the frontier. The author
explains how the Louisiana Purchase brought
up questions concerning whether or not the
government had the right to purchase such a
large piece of land according to the terms of
the Constitution. This issue was settled when
the Senate approved the Louisiana Purchase
Treaty. In addition, there was concern about
the tenuous balance of power between
states that supported Federalist ideas and
those that supported Democratic-Republican
ideas. The purchase of the Louisiana
Territory would create more southern and
western states, which would result in the
southern states having a higher number of
representatives in Congress than the
northern states, thus changing the political
balance and affecting the number of states
that would support or oppose slavery. The
Missouri Compromise addressed the slavery
concern. The purchase of the Louisiana
Territory doubled the size of the United
States and opened many economic and
geographic doors.
Writing About History:
• Making Inferences (written, oral): Divide the class into small discussion groups and pose the
following questions: What personality traits do you think Lewis and Clark had? Why was their job an
important one? Do you think their exploration changed our country? How? What obstacles do you
think they faced on their Voyage of Discovery? Ask each student to write a series of four journal entries
from the perspective of either Lewis or Clark. The first entry should be written on the night before the
Voyage of Discovery begins, the second and third during the trip, and the fourth just after the return to
St. Louis, Missouri. Entries should include observations and feelings. Have students share their journal
entries within the discussion group. As a follow-up to this activity, students can view selected excerpts
from the actual travel journals from the Voyage of Discovery at the following Web site: The Journals—
http://www.pbs.org/lewisandclark/archive/idx_ jou.html
Research Activities:
• Analyzing Primary Sources (written, oral, graphic): Divide the class into small groups.
Give each group a large map of the United States (at least 1’x2’), a sheet of thick cardboard, glue,
pushpins, and yarn. Instruct the groups to glue the map to the cardboard. Provide resources for
students to research the exploration route that Lewis and Clark followed on the Voyage of Discovery.
Maps of the route can be found at the following Web site: Discovering Lewis and Clark—
http://www.lewis-clark.org/index.htm. Ask each group to place pushpins along the route on their
map and to connect them with yarn. Each group should then select three points along the route to
research and write a brief paragraph on an index card telling about the location as it is today. The
index cards should be attached to the maps with pushpins in the appropriate location. Have each group
share their maps with the class. Lead a class discussion on the Louisiana Purchase and its implications
for the United States.
Additional Resources:
Books:
• Blumberg, Rhoda. What’s The Deal? Jefferson, Napoleon and the Louisiana Purchase. Washington,
D.C.: National Geographic Society, 1998.
• Franklin, Virgil. The Story of Sacagawea. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc., 2002.
• Senzell, Sally Isaacs. America in the Time of Lewis and Clark, 1801–1850. Chicago, IL: Heineman
Library, 1999.
Web sites:
Due to the changing nature of Internet links, the Rosen Publishing Group, Inc., has developed an online
list of Web sites related to the subject of this book. This site is updated regularly. Please use this link to
access the list: http://www.rosenlinks.com/lnan/lopu
Objectives:
• Write a real estate advertisement for the
Louisiana Purchase.
• Write a series of four journal entries from
the point of view of either Lewis or Clark,
recounting feelings before, during, and after
the Voyage of Discovery.
• Study the route of the Voyage of Discovery
and trace it on a modern map. Research
selected locations along the route.
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