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Name: ____________________________ Social Studies Seven/PD: ______
DBQ – Lewis and Clark and the Louisiana Purchase
Document Based Question: Lewis and Clark and the Louisiana Purchase
The Document Based Question in this scaffolding packet is based on the documents included
(one to four). The question is designed to test your ability to work with historical documents. Some
of the documents have been edited to meet the requirements of the question.
Historical Context:
Under the Treaty of Paris (1783), the United States gained all of the lands between the Appalachian
Mountains and Mississippi River south of British Canada (save Florida). As settlers began to push west of
the mountains, they discovered that the only way to send their crops and other products to market was by
shipping them down the rivers that reached the Mississippi. There was no network of roads between the
lands west of the mountains with lands east of the mountains. The Mississippi could be used to send crops
to the port of New Orleans and then to the ports on the Eastern Coast of the United States. Access to the
Mississippi and New Orleans was so vital to the western territories that the United States negotiated several
treaties with Spain (which controlled New Orleans from 1762 to 1800) to guarantee access to the river for
American citizens. President Jefferson began to explore the possibility of buying New Orleans when he
assumed office in 1801.
In 1800, Spain was forced to relinquish control of Louisiana to France after Napoleon Bonaparte
invaded and conquered Spain. President Jefferson, who had been an ambassador to France in the 1780’s,
was well aware of the dreams that France had of turning Louisiana into a New World French Empire.
Alarmed by the thought of having another powerful European neighbor on the borders of the United States
and determined to protect American interests in the west, Jefferson sent a negotiating team to Paris to offer
to buy New Orleans from France for up to five million dollars. The Americans were shocked when France
offered to sell them the entire territory for $15 million. Events had turned against France when a slave
rebellion drove the French from Haiti. In addition, Napoleon felt that he needed the funding to launch an
invasion against Great Britain. The Americans quickly agreed and President Jefferson convinced Congress
to accept the Louisiana Purchase as a treaty – doubling the size of the nation.
Task:
Using information from the documents and your knowledge of Social Studies, answer the questions
that follow each document in Part A (this packet). Your answers to the questions will help you write the
essay (Part B) in which you will need to:
 Discuss how the Louisiana Purchase was a benefit to the United States.
 Explain how both the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark Expedition helped in the growth
of the United States.
Document One – The Louisiana Purchase
Year Price Area -
1803
$15 Million (four cents an acre)
828,000 square miles (doubling the size of the United States)
Future States -
Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, and portions of Minnesota,
North Dakota, South Dakota, New Mexico, Texas, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado,
and Louisiana
U.S. Population in 1800
U.S. Population in 1860
1.
-
5,236,631
31,443,321
How did the purchase of Louisiana in 1803 change the United States? [1]
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2.
How did the Louisiana Purchase allow for the future expansion of the United States? [1]
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Document Two – The Lewis and Clark Expedition’s Missions
Primary Objectives from President Jefferson:
1.
Explore and map the Louisiana Territory
2.
“Explore the Missouri River, & such principle stream of it, as, by its course and communication
with the waters of the Pacific ocean, whether the Columbia, Oregon, Colorado or any other river
may offer the most direct & practicable water communication across this continent for the purpose
of commerce.”
3.
Establish a claim over the far northwestern territories before other nations
4.
Establish U.S. sovereignty over the lands of the Native American Nations
Secondary Objectives from President Jefferson
1.
Study the geography, weather, resources, plants, and animal life of the territory
2.
Open trade with the Native Americans of the Territory
3.
What valuable information did the Lewis and Clark Expedition provide about the
Louisiana Territory? [1]
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4. How did the Lewis and Clark Expedition help establish U.S. control over western territories? [1]
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Document Three – The Journals of Lewis and Clark
5. How did the Lewis and Clark Expedition help settlers entering the newly purchased territory? [1]
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Document Four – Settling the Louisiana Territory
6.
What effect did the Lewis and Clark Expedition have the Louisiana Territory? [1]
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7.
How did the Lewis and Clark Expedition transform the United States? [1]
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Part B - Essay
Directions:
Write a well-organized essay that includes an introduction, several paragraphs, and a conclusion.
Use evidence from at least three documents in the body of the essay. Support your response with relevant
facts, examples, and details. Include additional outside information.
Historical Context:
Under the Treaty of Paris (1783), the United States gained all of the lands between the Appalachian
Mountains and Mississippi River south of British Canada (save Florida). As settlers began to push west of the
mountains, they discovered that the only way to send their crops and other products to market was by shipping them
down the rivers that reached the Mississippi. There was no network of roads between the lands west of the
mountains with lands east of the mountains. The Mississippi could be used to send crops to the port of New Orleans
and then to the ports on the Eastern Coast of the United States. Access to the Mississippi and New Orleans was so
vital to the western territories that the United States negotiated several treaties with Spain (which controlled New
Orleans from 1762 to 1800) to guarantee access to the river for American citizens. President Jefferson began to
explore the possibility of buying New Orleans when he assumed office in 1801.
In 1800, Spain was forced to relinquish control of Louisiana to France after Napoleon Bonaparte invaded and
conquered Spain. President Jefferson, who had been an ambassador to France in the 1780’s, was well aware of the
dreams that France had of turning Louisiana into a New World French Empire. Alarmed by the thought of having
another powerful European neighbor on the borders of the United States and determined to protect American
interests in the west, Jefferson sent a negotiating team to Paris to offer to buy New Orleans from France for up to five
million dollars. The Americans were shocked when France offered to sell them the entire territory for $15 million.
Events had turned against France when a slave rebellion drove the French from Haiti. In addition, Napoleon felt that
he needed the funding to launch an invasion against Great Britain. The Americans quickly agreed and President
Jefferson convinced Congress to accept the Louisiana Purchase as a treaty – doubling the size of the nation.
Task:
Using information from the documents and your knowledge of Social Studies, answer the questions
that follow each document in Part A (this packet). Your answers to the questions will help you write the
essay (Part B) in which you will need to:
 Discuss how the Louisiana Purchase was a benefit to the United States.
 Explain how both the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark Expedition helped in the growth
of the United States.
Guidelines:
In your essay, be sure to:
-
Answer all aspects (parts) of the Task by analyzing and interpreting at least four documents.
Include information from the documents in the body of the essay
Include related and relevant (appropriate) outside information
Support the theme (thesis) with relevant facts, examples, and details
Use a logical and clear plan or organization
Introduce the theme (thesis) that goes beyond a simple restatement of the Task or Context
Conclude the essay with a summation (summary) of the theme (thesis)