ExpeditionsAsiaKE09

Hello, I’m Christine and I’m asia from mms news. Today, lewis and clark are preparing to go out west and Jefferson is excited about purchasing Louisiana. Those stories and more up next.

Napoleon and Louisiana Napoleon Bonaparte has control over France and is trying to conquer many other nations around the world. He has gone far in succeeding this goal, but the small colony of Saint Domingue has rebelled. Slaves have thrown over the government. A slave going by the name of L’Overture has taken Leadership over the island. Napoleon has wanted to take control over Louisiana for a while now, but this is in the way, so he has decided to send Troops over to the island, but to his surprise there were many troops there ready to fight the French army. The Mississippi Region Napoleon and his army have taken control over Louisiana, which has upset many U.S. leaders. By having the French in power this puts a stop on trading and the expansion to the West for the U.S. There is a lot of cultural importance and economic importance there too. The seaport of New Orleans is a very diverse community because it has been under the rule of many other different nations, so it has become the main interest of President Jefferson’s foreign policy. The President has said, “There is on the globe one single spot, the possessor of which is our natural and habitual enemy. It is New Orleans, through which the produce of three eighths of our territory must pass to market.” Purchasing the territory Jefferson doesn’t want to start a war so he has asked to buy the port of New Orleans from the French, hoping that this would help solve the problem. While they are in France trying to solve the problem they expect only to get New Orleans, if any thing, but the French offered to sell them back the entire Territory of Louisiana instead. He was willing to get rid Louisiana for many reasons. Also, by selling it he would have enough money to buy supplies to fight of the slaves in Saint Domingue. So they bought it for 15 million dollars and signed a treaty. Expanding the Nation The Louisiana Purchase has helped to expand the country of the United States of America. The senate has approved the treaty of the Louisiana Purchase finally making it official on October 20th. Now the Country has doubled in size. While there are no clear boundaries of the Louisiana Territory it starts at the Mississippi River and goes up to the Rocky Mountains. The president is happy with the purchase and is very please that it has been such an agricultural expansion. President Jefferson has said that the Louisiana Purchase has expanded, “the empire of liberty” and provided, “a widespread field for the blessings of freedom.”

The Lewis and Clark Expedition/Preparations (30sec) Former army captain Meriwether Lewis and Lieutenant William Clark have left a little late on their expedition to the west of the Mississippi River, due to a delay of poor weather and problems with equipment. The two men have carefully chosen a group of well-experienced frontiersmen to accompany them. Lewis and Clark need to take a lot of detailed notes if they want to be successful. Jefferson, not yet president, has taken notice of the west and has convinced the Congress to fund it, so Lewis and Clark need to be especially careful if they want to find a river route to the Pacific Ocean.

Crossing the Plains (30sec) As Lewis and Clark are traveling up the Missouri River, they have been informing each new Indian tribe, through an interpreter, that they now own the land. Even though they hold themselves as confident, independent and brave, they still depend on the Indians to help them on their expedition. One Indian is helping them greatly throughout their traveling. Her name is Sacagawea. She is the wife of a French fur trader who lives in a Mandan Camp. She is helping them with learning about the animals, plants and land there. They are frequently writing in their journals about the expedition. To Pacific and Back (28sec) People are lining up to see the great return of the two great explorers, Clark and Lewis. They didn’t find a river route like they planned, but they did provide a lot of great information about their travel trail. While on their journey, they reached the Rocky Mountains and discovered that it may be very difficult to cross, due to the heavy snow capped mountain. But to their surprise, they met the Shoshoni, Sacagawea’s tribe and they got a guide, food, and horses. It has been a dangerous journey but they arrived in the northwest. Soon their long trip ended. Pike’s Expedition (24sec) Soon, Zebulon Pike returns from his own expedition from the southern territory. He praises the Spanish although they have imprisoned him on his journey for suspecting him of being a spy. Pike has led his small group of expedition members throughout the Rocky Mountains in the western territory and the southern territory, trying to find the starting point of the Red River. He has also planned to do some spying on the Spanish outposts and forts in the northwest. This is what he was soon imprisoned for.