The Louisiana Purchase (1803) blindsided President Jefferson and left him with quite a predicament. We had offered to purchase ownership of New Orleans from France for $10,000,000 and their counter-offer was to sell their entire Louisiana Territory for a mere $15,000,000. U.S. Ambassador to France Robert Livingston made Jefferson aware of this offer and told him to act quickly before the French changed their mind. This land purchase would double our country's size and vastly improve our ability to expand territoriality, politically and economically. The problem was nowhere in the Constitution did it allow the president purchase land from foreign nations. And as I am sure you will recall, Jefferson was a strict interpreter of the Constitution...meaning if the Constitution did not specifically say the president could do something then it was illegal for the president to do it anyway.
Jefferson was facing a classic ethical dilemma: should he break his own rule, risk his integrity and purchase the land to benefit the nation OR should he stick with D-R beliefs and let Congress approve the purchase risking that it might take too long and the deal would be off the table. Well, obviously he chose to buy the land without Congressional approval and that's how we got the Louisiana Territory. Funny how Jefferson criticized Adams for "over-stepping the Constitution" but as soon as he became president he did the same thing!
For this week's blog, you are going to visit a website where the Lewis & Clark Expedition (also known as the "Corps of Discovery") is explained. You are also going to play an online game making decisions along with Lewis & Clark. Here is the link to the article and here is the link to the game. After you have completed the reading and the game, in the comment section write your reaction to the Corps of Discovery. You could include challenges they faced, what it would have been like to have been with them, what you would have done differently or anything else that seems significant about this journey.
I have always loved the Lewis and Clark story! I had never heard the part about them crossing the mountain, though, so I think I’ll mainly touch on that. The crew was so eager that they faced a blizzard to cross a mountain that would kill some and starve all, but, of course, they didn’t know that. At the time, they probably thought that they were being proactive by crossing earlier. With all that waiting, they were bound to run out of food some time. I still believe they should have waited for spring to come before they faced any icy mountains.
ReplyDelete(102)
This expedition was very interesting. They saw so many animals that had only been seen by Native Americans. I have heard that grizzly bears almost killed Lewis and Clark during there expedition. The game showed me that I would have been screwed if I went on the journey. I picked all the wrong stuff. Like obviously I am going to bring food on the trip! I do not care about journaling but apparently that was a bad idea. Also, who wants to sit around and wait for spring? I wanted to move on. That was bad too. I would have frozen to death! But actually Lewis and Clark did that and real life and survived so I guess I could have lived but my advice would have been awful on this trip. (134)
ReplyDeleteThe Lewis and Clark exposition was very crazy. They had challenges along the way, the main challenge well they had a lot. The mountains the cold, the snow, the parts were they thought they were dead. They were saying it would snow 3 hours before the day would begin. I mean they had to go over 2000 miles. I would literally hate anyone if I would do this. I really like the stories the challenges may have been tough but they survived. I thought that just picking your friend would go would be stupid but he surprised. (100)
ReplyDeleteLewis and Clark had a really tough journey through the mountains. the snow could've given them frost bite. spring could've killed them anything and everything possibly could've killed them. I love this story even though its different. I honestly think I couldn't have done it. in the game I did pretty well but that's a game. when you think about how much these people did, they did a lot for this time period. going over 2000 miles in all these different seasons can be really tough, but they did it! yay for them. Going on expeditions in different climates really would put stress on your respiratory system thanks goodness they had more patients they did. (115)
ReplyDeleteThis was cool because first off it was "illegal", Jefferson just signed the paper its our land now go explore and tell me what you find. He found one of his secretaries to lead it, his name was Meriwether Lewis. Lewis chose William Clark to help him co-lead, a boatman, three dozen soldiers, and one of Clark's slaves. They left from St. Louis and found an interpreter and his 16 year old wife, Sacagawea. These people turned out to be a very big help when they ran into an Indian tribe because the chief was Sacagawea's brother. Sacagawea was taken from her family when she was young and she married a French trapper. Her brother gave them horses to make their journey easier. They ended up completing their mission and getting to the Pacific Ocean. (136)
ReplyDeleteIf someone had asked me to go on this expedition, I would have said 'Heck yes!' This was a history-making adventure! And talk about getting out of the house for awhile... Anyways, they got to do some amazing things and see things that had never been seen before (other than the Indians of course). They got to go all the way across modern-day America, meet Indian tribes, and climb icy mountains. The actual journey doesn't sound all that fun but just think. What would it feel like to stand on a hill and look at the Pacific Ocean and smell the salt water? Amazing! But it's a good thing I didn't go because according to my decisions on the game, I would've been dead before getting halfway! Thank goodness I live in the 21st Century. (133)
ReplyDeleteNote to Mr. Haston: Just so you know, I accidently deleted my blog 3 times so I actually did it 4 times. If there's 5 bonus points laying around for ultimate dipstick, go ahead and write my name on it...
This adventure was something that anyone would have been lucky to participate in! It was something that you hear about in the movie night at the museum. That is when I first heard of it! These Louis and Clark did something pretty amazing! It would have been an incredible journey to be able to participate in! They even managed to pick up Sacagawea along the way. The adventure sounds pretty fun, and it would have been really cool to do it because it was not the smartest thing to do because it was illegal, and all together it just sounds fun. These people made history!!!(108)
ReplyDeleteThis was a very interesting journey! I mean, getting asked by the president to explore lands unknown would be pretty awesome! You could see new things, and even meet new people. This trip would also help test and improve your survival skills. Plus, you could be doing something illegal without getting in trouble with the law! It would be so cool to do because I was changing history and helping make America bigger and better! These things are in museums and textbooks all over the country! You would be famous, and people all over would admire you! You could do things that most people couldn't! (105)
ReplyDeleteThis journey was amazing just to see how far they came and where they had been and all they went through. Although I'm not sure I would have gone just because it seems like it would be a lot of work. Just like any story line in the movies Lewis and Clark had a lot of help from native tribes and Sacegawea to succeed in their mission. But what they accomplished was an amazing feat that not a lot of people would have even attempted at that time and from my perspective it seemed like they did it because they loved the outdoors and they wanted some adventure.(105)
ReplyDeleteSo, this expedition sounds kind of cool. It also sounds crazy hearing about some of the decisions lewis and clark made. Like the one to go ahead and cross the mountain. It took them two weeks to get through this mountain, and it snowed like crazy. The smart choice would have been to wait until spring when they wouldn’t starve and freeze to death. A smart choice that they made was taking sacagwea and her husband. She was pregnant at the beginning of the journey and if she didn’t go, they would have been in trouble. They came across a Shoshone tribe that was suspicious about the white men, but the chief turned out to be sacagwea’s brother. Without her there, the inidans may have not helped them and possibly killed them or taken them as slaves. (137)
ReplyDeleteThe Louis and Clark expedition was pretty awesome for Lewis and Clark because they got asked by the president to explore unknown lands. They got to do many things including meet Indians and explore uncharted territory. I think this would have been really fun to do and was a big honor for them because they were plotting out what was going to be the other half of the United States. Sacajawea was a big help to Lewis and Clark without her that may have gotten killed or captured by the Native Americans. All in all the expedition and the purchase was very beneficial to our country and still is today.
ReplyDeleteThe Lewis and Clark expedition would have been an adventure so large that I can’t even imagine. Think about leaving for who knows where and not knowing how long you will be gone or if you will even make it back. Consider this. There were no roads, only a few trails, and no maps. The only information was bits and pieces from others who may have traveled part of the country. You would need to be skilled in living off the land. You can carry only so many supplies for so many days. Can’t run to Bi-Lo! Then there are the unknown dangers: wild animals, hostile natives, weather and dangerous terrain. To me, the most significant event of their journey happened as they were about to run out of supplies after crossing the Continental Divide. They chanced upon a Shoshone village. The Shoshones had never seen a white man and were suspicious of Lewis and Clark. When the main party of the expedition arrived Sacagawea, the French trapper’s wife, suddenly recognized the chief of the Shoshones. He was her brother! This was just too much to be a coincidence. It had to be divine intervention. I’m glad we had people like Lewis and Clark who helped found this great country.
ReplyDeleteTesting, Testing 1-2-3
ReplyDelete(Audrey)