The Louisiana Purchase

     One of the most important things during Thomas Jefferson's two term presidency was the purchase of the Louisiana Territory from Napoleon.   Not only did this purchase practically double the size of the United States of America, it also lead to the removal of one of the biggest military powers in North America, the French.  Jefferson purchased the land for fifteen million dollars, equating the purchase of over 800,000 acres of land for just three cents an acre.  One person even said it was "the most important and beneficial transaction... since the Declaration of Independence".

     With the acquisition of this new land, there was a need to explore what was once a foreign place to Americans.  Jefferson tapped his secretary Meriwether Lewis, to embark on this journey with help of his former comrade William Clark.  Jefferson took all of the precautions for the journey by organizing the trip and furthering Lewis's education by getting him tutors in map drawing, botany, anatomy, etc.  Jefferson even went to the extent to grant his secretary the ability to obtain money and supplies in the name of the United States.  As much as the trip was needed to explore the new land, it was also needed to study species of plants and animals that were once unknown.  Jefferson believed "gaining all this knowledge was even more important than actually reaching the Pacific."  It was important to learn more about unknown native plant species to see if they could be cultivated and used as future crops.  Benjamin Franklin also believed that western expansion would help prevent the United States from becoming an industrial society.

     Lewis and Clark were met with some of the most beautiful, untouched landscapes, such as the Rocky Mountains.  Lewis couldn't even describe some of the sights and could say nothing except how sublime they were.  (Referring to the vastness, ruggedness and darkness of some of the landscapes)  The term "sublime" was originally an English concept, but it would grow to become a term best fit for the American landscapes.

     Throughout their expedition, Lewis and Clark sent back seeds from formerly unknown plant species.  Thomas Jefferson was quick to dispatch the seeds to farmers and gardeners and rarely kept any.  The seeds he did keep, such as Osage oranges were later planted in Monticello.  He believed the new seeds and plants would bring a new life to American land.  Not only were plants a big concern for Jefferson, he also wanted Lewis and Clark to bring back information on any animals that were unknown to them.  One of those animals was the Black Prairie Dog but Lewis and Clark did not bring back anything about the mysterious mastodon that Jefferson believed lived in the West.

     Lewis and Clark not only returned with mounds of information about plants and animals in the newly acquired Louisiana Territory, but their expedition led to a influx of art and poetry about the American landscapes.  Thomas Jefferson even began to collect pictures of American scenery such as Niagara Falls.  The idea of sublime quickly became synonymous with American landscapes and inspired many novelists and artists to produce works based off of those landscapes.

 (The Osage orange tree's wood was used by Native Americans to craft bows, and Jefferson later planted this tree in Monticello.) 

(The Black Tailed Prairie Dog was one of the species of animals Lewis and Clark discovered while on their expedition.)

"Our seventeen states compose a great and growing nation, 

their children are as the leaves of the trees, which the winds are

spreading over the forest" 

- Thomas Jefferson