- Louisiana was a key area b/c the nation that controlled it automatically controlled [?], which was a center for trading up and down the Mississippi River. So, the US preferred that the Spanish [weaker power], who had acquired the territory from France in 1763, have the area.
- In 1800 and 1801, however, France once again obtained control of the region. Oh no! Concerns grew when, right before giving the area to France, Spanish officials stopped letting Americans keep their goods in NO while waiting for their shipment to other countries.
- Jefferson responded by preparing for war and sending [?] to join Robert Livingston in France. Their goal: to buy NO. But they got a heck of a lot more than they bargained for when in April 1803 [?] offered the whole deal to the US for $[?] million [needed the $].
- Strategically, the deal was a major dream, but there was the ever-annoying question: was it Constitutional for [?] to buy the land [didn’t say in Constitution that Presidents could buy land]? Jefferson considered amending the Constitution for it, but decided the President’s implied powers were enough. Besides, as an expansionist, it was just too good to pass up.
- In May 1804 Jefferson sent out [?] and William Clark to map the territory and go all the way to the Pacific Coast. L&C led the [?], which was a rather diverse group consisting of army regulars, young adventurer-wannabes, and Indian guides added along the way [[?]]. The group arrived back home on September 23, 1806, bringing with them an extensive knowledge of the flora, fauna and peoples of the West.
- Other explorations, like the one led by Zebulon Pike, which explored the Southwest, followed, eventually leading to the creation of the Santa Fe Trail in the 1820s and the beginning of US settlement in Texas.