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<br />public knowledge of the area farther west was limited to
<br />the lower reaches of the main river valleys. The
<br />systematic exploration and settlement of this vast area
<br />began with the American purchase of the Lousiiana
<br />Territory.
<br />LaSalle had claimed the whole of the Mississippi
<br />River and the land drained by its tributaries for France,
<br />and had named the area "La Louisianne" after the
<br />reigning king, Louis XIV. France retained Louisiana
<br />until I 762. In that year, following defeat by England in
<br />the Seven Years War, she ceded the territory to Spain,
<br />primarily to keep it out of the hands of the English.
<br />Spain held the Louisiana Territory for 38 years, but
<br />sent only a few administrators and soldiers to occupy
<br />the region. Thus, Louisiana remained French in
<br />population and culture. By 1802, American settlement
<br />had moved along the Ohio River Valley and touched the
<br />Mississippi. Because the Appalachian Mountains
<br />separated the new settlements and the eastern seaboard,
<br />westerners depended on river transportation to convey
<br />their produce to market.
<br />Corn, flour, grain and salt pork were floated down
<br />the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to New Orleans where
<br />the cargoes were unloaded and stored for transshipment.
<br />In 1802 the Spanish Intendant at New Orleans refused
<br />the unloading of American freight. The reasons for this
<br />action are not clear. A secret treaty had transferred the
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<br />whole of the Louisiana Territory back to France in
<br />1800. The decree closing the port to Americans may
<br />have originated with Napoleon. In any case, President
<br />Jefferson knew that he could not allow the economy of
<br />half the Nation to remain at the mercy of a foreign
<br />power. Accordingly, the cession to France now revealed,
<br />Jefferson sent James Monroe to Paris to join the
<br />American foreign minister in negotiating the purchase of
<br />New Orleans. Much to the Americans' surprise,
<br />Napoleon offered to sell France's claim to the entire
<br />Louisiana Territory for only $15 million.
<br />The Louisiana Purchase, officially completed on May
<br />9, 1803, was among the significant events of world
<br />history. With minor exceptions, the eastern boundary of
<br />the Louisiana Territory was the Mississippi River, the
<br />western boundary the Rocky Mountains, and the
<br />southern boundary the Red River and the present State
<br />of Louisiana. "Louisiana" constituted the entire western
<br />drainage area of the "Father of Waters," and the greater
<br />part of this area was the Missouri Basin. The purchase
<br />doubled the size of the United States, added incalculably
<br />to the Nation's wealth, and made it almost inevitable
<br />that Americans would advance to the Pacific. In short,
<br />the Louisiana Purchase projected the Unites States as a
<br />great power and made possible the successive waves of
<br />exploration and settlement within the Missouri River
<br />Basin.
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<br />14
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<br />First Cavalry at Fort Custer, Montana - 1887
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