Question

Why is the Louisiana Purchase treaty an important document in the study of Manifest Destiny?

Answer 1

It's pretty simple, really... Manifest Destiny was the idea that the United States deserved to stretch from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean... it was the "Manifest," meaning the "Obvious..." our obvious destiny.

Before the Louisiana purchase, the US Territory extended to the east bank of the Mississippi river, but no further. When Napoleon sold the Louisiana territory to Jefferson, that purchase doubled the size of the United States... suddenly, the US owned the Great Plains, the Midwest, the eastern Rockies, and a piece of the Gulf of Mexico.

Because of this major expansion, US citizens realized that there was much more to the continent, and so they began exploring this new territory... Lewis and Clark were the first ones to reach the Pacific Ocean, the first to successfully traverse all of North America. They came back triumphant, claiming that there was a world of wonders beyond US lands, and that claiming it as our own was our rightful option.

Because of the Louisiana Purchase, citizens grew more interested in what lay to the west, and thus began to slowly take over the continent, through the war of 1812, the Mexican war, the Pig War, the 54 40 treaty, and many other negotiations that lead to the current borders of the US today.

Answer 2

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081116121915AAbTErd

Answer 3

Does this help?

Answer 4

i think It shows the extent to which the United States was claiming land westward.

Answer 5

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