Mountains. It was on this expedition that Pike discovered the mighty peak which has ever since borne his name. After terrible suffering from cold and hunger Pike reached the Rio Grande where he was captured as a trespasser upon Spanish territory and taken to Mexico. He was soon released, however, and found his way back to the United States.

Besides the valuable knowledge they gained about the The impor- extent and the resources of the country bought from France tance of the in 1803, Lewis and Clark, and Pike opened the way into the Lewis and heart of the far West. The trails they blazed were soon followed by hunters, trappers, and fur traders, and a little later

work of

Clark

actual settlers came to possess the land.
sea captain named Gray had found the
which he named Columbia for his ship.
United States a claim to all the country drained by the Colum-
bia River. The work of Lewis and Clark strengthened our
claim to the Oregon country, as the far Northwest was coming
to be called. When John Jacob Astor established a fur-trading
post at Astoria in 1811 he took the first step toward the actual
occupation of this rich region.

The Plot of Aaron Burr.-While Lewis and Clark were exploring the far West the peace of the western settlements Aaron Burr was threatened by the wild schemes of Aaron Burr. Burr was a brilliant and ambitious man, but utterly selfish and untrust

worthy. We have seen how he came within a single vote of winning the presidency in 1800, when Jefferson was chosen by the House of Representatives. In 1804 Burr tried to be elected governor of New York, but he was defeated through the efforts of Alexander Hamilton. This angered him and he challenged Hamilton and killed him in a duel. This crime ruined Burr's political prospects in the East, and he now turned his attention to a selfish conspiracy in the West.

Burr's purpose was to make himself the ruler of a new

state in the Southwest. Just how he expected to establish this new nation is not quite clear. He told some of his followers Burr's plot that he intended to lead an expedition against Mexico. Others thought that he meant to set up a government of his own in Louisiana. Probably he dreamed of doing both of these things. Burr told so many different stories about his plans that it is hard for us to believe anything that he said.

At first the men of the West, who hated Spain and wished to win West Florida and Texas from her, received Burr with

enthusiasm. But when they began to realize that his designs His arrest were treasonable they fell away from him. In 1806 Burr and trial started down the Mississippi with sixty followers, but when

Control of

sippi

his party reached Natchez he lost hope and, disguised as a river boatman, fled through the forest toward Florida. He was arrested just before he reached the Spanish boundary and tried for treason, but was acquitted because it could not be proved that he had ever actually levied war upon the United States.

The Meaning of the Louisiana Purchase. The purchase of Louisiana was welcomed with delight by the people of the rising West. It made the Mississippi an American river from the Missis- its source to its mouth, and thus gave to the inhabitants of the Mississippi valley a natural outlet for their commerce for all time. It promoted the peace of our country by removing a cause of dispute and possible wars with Spain or France. Burr's conspiracy would have been a much more serious danger than it was if either of those nations had been in possession of New Orleans at the time.

doubled

The acquisition of the land from the Mississippi to the Rocky Mountains doubled the area of the United States. The area of Thirteen great states have since been created out of the terriour country tory added to the nation in 1803. We then owned all of the most fertile and extensive river valley in the temperate zone,a land designed by nature to be the home of one people. It thus made certain the future greatness of our country. When Napoleon sold Louisiana he said, "This accession of territory establishes forever the power of the United States."

Great

importance of the Louisiana Purchase

The Louisiana purchase strengthened the government of the United States. As a "strict constructionist" Jefferson doubted the right of the nation to buy territory and wanted the Constitution amended so that the purchase could be lawfully made. But his friends persuaded him that it was not necessary to do this, and since the Louisiana Purchase was made no one has questioned the power of the national government to acquire territory. The acquisition of the vast domain beyond the Mississippi opened a great field for western emigration. The Mississippi valley was destined to be the real heart of the country in which true democracy and national spirit were to develop most rapidly. When we think of all its consequences we must decide that the purchase of Louisiana was the most important fact in the first half century of our history under the Constitution.

REFERENCES.

Channing, The Jeffersonian System; Ogg, The Opening of the Mississippi; McMaster, History of the People of the United States, Vols. II-III; Schouler, History of the United States, Vol. II; Adams, History of the United States, Vols. I-III; Hosmer, Short History of the Mississippi Valley; Roosevelt, The Winning of the West, Vol. IV.

TOPICAL READINGS.

1. Jefferson and the Great Men of his Time. Adams, History of the United States, I, 185-196.

2. The Inauguration of Jefferson. Adams, History of the United States, I, 197-204.

3. The Story of Toussaint Louverture. Adams, History of the United States, I, 378-398.

4. Napoleon's Quarrel with his Brothers About Selling Louisiana. Hart, American History Told by Contemporaries, III, 367-372.

5. How We Bought Louisiana. Channing, The Jeffersonian System, 60-72.

6. Raising our Flag in New Orleans. 155-163.

7. The Adventures of Lewis and Clark.

Rocky Mountains, 1-39.

Grace King, New Orleans,

McMurry, Pioneers of the

8. Pike's Explorations, Thwaites, Rocky Mountain Explorations, 196-208.

9. The Duel between Hamilton and Burr. Lodge, Alexander Hamilton, 242-247.

10. The Story of Burr's Conspiracy. Channing, The Jeffersonian System, 155-168.

ILLUSTRATIVE LITERATURE.

Poems: Proctor, Sa-Ca-Ga-We-A; Barlow, On the Discoveries of Captain Lewis.

Stories: Churchill, The Crossing; Carpenter, The Code of Victor Jaillot; Cable, Strange True Stories of Louisiana; The Grandissimes. Hale, Philip Nolan's Friends; The Man without a Country; Hough, The Magnificent Adventure; Pidgin, Blennerhassett; Irving, Astoria; McMurry, Pioneers of the Rocky Mountains; Thwaites, Rocky Mountain Exploration.

Biographies: Morse, Thomas Jefferson; Schouler. Thomas Jefferson; Lighton, Lewis and Clark.

QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS.

1. Why was the election of Jefferson a turning point in our history? 2. Explain how our present way of electing a president differs from the plan followed in 1800. Is there any good reason for our system of presidential electors?

3. Name the first five presidents. How many terms had each?

4. Was Jefferson's policy of reducing the army and navy wise? What is meant by calling Jefferson a "servant of the common good"?

5. Why did we want to buy New Orleans? Why was Napoleon willing to sell Louisiana to us? How do the farmers of the Mississippi valley send their products to the markets of the world now?

6. Where is Santo Domingo? Point out upon a map the exact extent of the Louisiana purchase. Trace upon the map the route of Lewis and Clark. The route of Pike's expeditions.

7. What is treason? Was Burr a traitor?

8. Theme for an essay: The Importance of the Louisiana Purchase.