Louisiana Purchase
Information Sheet

Prepare a fact sheet on the purchase including money proposed, spent, actual totals, land area, etc.



Illustrate the importance of the Mississippi River and New Orleans at the time (include a map).



Summarize the colonial history of Louisiana.



Describe the land trades with Spain and the United Kingdom that altered the borders of the original purchase.



Develop a timeline showing ownership of Louisiana beginning in1800 and ending in 1819.



Examine Jefferson's plans - prior to obtaining the territory - to explore the region as far as the Pacific Ocean.



Prepare brief biographies of the Americans involved in the purchase.



Investigate how the initial Congressional appropriation of $2 million turned into the far larger purchase price.



Explore the Constitutional questions raised by the Louisiana Purchase and how they were resolved.



Based on your research, look at the significance of the Louisiana Purchase and hypothesize what might have happened if Congress had not approved.

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