The Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase is often regarded as the most famous of Thomas Jefferson's accomplishments during his Presidency, albeit a little hypocritical. There was no clause in the Constitution stating that the President could purchase land, even though Jefferson believed in a strict interpretation of the Constitution and used the fact that there wasn't a clause saying that the national government could create a bank when Alexander Hamilton tried to create one.
On April 30th, 1803, Thomas Jefferson bought a huge amount of land from Napoleon, who was leader of France at the time. This was named the Louisiana Purchase, and it doubled the size of America by expanding the land controlled by America east of the Mississippi River over into parts of Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, and other states. In total, all or part of 15 present time states were purchased in the Louisiana Purchase.
Thomas Jefferson sent an expedition, known as the Corps of Discovery, lead by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. Jefferson only acknowledged Lewis as the leader, but Lewis selected the men who were to come on the expedition with him, and his choice for co leader was William Clark, his boyhood friend and survivalist.
Attractions
Ones of the main attractions of this room, the biggest room of all 5, is the small movie screen constantly playing a 30 minute video showing Lewis and Clark's journey across the Louisiana Territory and all the way through Oregon Country (claimed by Spain, Britain, and Russia at the time) right out to the Pacific Ocean, and back. There is also a to scale model of ones of the small boats they would have taken with them, simulated so that you can pull it and experience how hard it was to lug the boats against stream up the Missouri River, and along one wall is a map of the journey, that you can follow and see where everything highlighted in the movie happened exactly, along with information on Thomas Jefferson's decision to purchase this land on the other wall.
The Louisiana Purchase is often regarded as the most famous of Thomas Jefferson's accomplishments during his Presidency, albeit a little hypocritical. There was no clause in the Constitution stating that the President could purchase land, even though Jefferson believed in a strict interpretation of the Constitution and used the fact that there wasn't a clause saying that the national government could create a bank when Alexander Hamilton tried to create one.
On April 30th, 1803, Thomas Jefferson bought a huge amount of land from Napoleon, who was leader of France at the time. This was named the Louisiana Purchase, and it doubled the size of America by expanding the land controlled by America east of the Mississippi River over into parts of Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, and other states. In total, all or part of 15 present time states were purchased in the Louisiana Purchase.
Thomas Jefferson sent an expedition, known as the Corps of Discovery, lead by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. Jefferson only acknowledged Lewis as the leader, but Lewis selected the men who were to come on the expedition with him, and his choice for co leader was William Clark, his boyhood friend and survivalist.
Attractions
Ones of the main attractions of this room, the biggest room of all 5, is the small movie screen constantly playing a 30 minute video showing Lewis and Clark's journey across the Louisiana Territory and all the way through Oregon Country (claimed by Spain, Britain, and Russia at the time) right out to the Pacific Ocean, and back. There is also a to scale model of ones of the small boats they would have taken with them, simulated so that you can pull it and experience how hard it was to lug the boats against stream up the Missouri River, and along one wall is a map of the journey, that you can follow and see where everything highlighted in the movie happened exactly, along with information on Thomas Jefferson's decision to purchase this land on the other wall.