Louisiana Purchase Research Paper

Words: 401
Pages: 2

In the year 1803, the Louisiana purchase was made to allow the United States to gain access to a large amount of land west of the Mississippi River from France. The newly acquired land would include Louisiana, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Oklahoma, while the partial amounts of lands within Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, and Minnesota were claimed as well. In 1804, Thomas Jefferson would commission Meriwether Lewis to explore the western territories that was gained to help map out the land, establish friendly relations with the indigenous population there, expand trading connections, and confirm that there was a northwestern water route to the Pacific Ocean. Before beginning his expedition, Lewis appointed