SLM521

Web Dropin 3

Richard McFarland

November 2, 2005

Thomas Jefferson

The Louisiana Purchase

As we continue our study of America’s westward expansion we will now look at the Louisiana Purchase. During President Thomas Jefferson’s term in office, Americans were eager to expand beyond the nation’s western border which was the Mississippi River. The Louisiana Purchase opened the west for settlement. It is the United States most important land deal. To learn about the Louisiana Purchase we will look at an online source.

Visit the website: http://www.gatewayno.com/history/LaPurchase.html. Read the information and study the map on the website.

Answer the following questions after reviewing the information on the website:

1. In what year was the Louisiana Purchase made?

2. How much money did the United States pay for the Louisiana Purchase?

3. List three benefits of the Louisiana Purchase.

Activity

Scroll down to the map at the bottom of the website page. Click on the map to in-large it and review it. Think about which states formed from land contained within the Louisiana Purchase. Below is a blank map of the continental United States with only state outlines shown. Outline the Louisiana Purchase on the map below, label it and color it in. Then label the states contained within the Louisiana Purchase. Hint: Refer to the U.S. map in your Social Studies text book if you need help with state names.

If you have any questions about the Louisiana Purchase write them in the space below the map. We will review your questions during our next class. We will also take a poll and list the states students have been to which were formed from the Louisiana Purchase.