1. Why was New Orleans "the one single spot" that made its possessor the "natural enemy" of the United States?
New Orleans was the center for trading up and down the Mississippi River so, whoever controlled the port controlled the main channel for trade in the region. The US preferred Spain to be the country who owned it because they were weaker and easier to negotiate with than the French, but France took over the area in 1801.
2. How were the negotiations for the Louisiana Purchase conducted and what were the agreed upon terms?
President Jefferson sent Robert Livingston to France and offer to buy the port of New Orleans. He met with Napoleon's foreign minister Talleyrand and made an offer to purchase the port for 2 million dollars. Since Napoleon needed money to fund his campaign he decided to offer the entire Louisiana territory up for sale instead. President Jefferson sent James Monroe to join Livingston and brought a new offer: 10 million dollars for New Orleans and Florida. Finally Livingston and Monroe decided to offer Napoleon 15 million dollars for the entire Louisiana territory. The French accepted and the US acquired a huge piece of land.
3. How did Jefferson rationalize his obvious discomfort with his Constitutional authority and the needs to accomplish his goal of acquiring Louisiana?
Technically it was not constitutional for the president to buy land so Jefferson needed the approval of Congress in order to ratify the purchase. He argued that acquiring the territory was their right and would allow the country to grow and stretch from east to west. One of his arguments was that the purchase not only gave them New Orleans, but would also give them the opportunity to find a new water route that crossed the continent from east to west.
4. How did the records kept by Lewis and Clark reflect the purpose of their expedition?
In May 1804 Jefferson sent out Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to map the territory and go all the way to the Pacific Coast. Lewis and Clark kept a strict written record of their findings and also collected samples of plant and animal species they found. These records were evidence of the task they had set out to accomplish.
5. What was the expedition's purpose and what did it accomplish?
The expedition's main goal was to try and find a river that crossed the country from east to west. During their journey they were also charged with the task of mapping the land and recording animal and plant species they discovered. The expedition did not find a waterway that crossed from east to west, but they did come back with extensive knowledge of the flora, fauna and peoples of the west.
Explanation:
