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U.S. History & GovDate______

Close Read: Louisiana Purchase, Monroe Doctrine, and Nationalism
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Objective / How did the Louisiana Purchase & the Monroe Doctrine strengthen feelings of nationalism?
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Introduction / The Louisiana Purchase was made by President Thomas Jefferson & the United States in 1803. The territorial acquisition nearly doubled the size of the United States. 20 years later, the Monroe Doctrine was issued by James Monroe during his State of the Union Address to Congress, and stated that the North American continent was to be free of European control going forward. Both instances of executive actions contributed to growing feelings of expansion and nationalism in the early 1800’s.

Background on the Louisiana Purchase:

During Thomas Jefferson’s presidency, the United States purchased the Louisiana Territory from France at a price of $15 million, or approximately 4 cents per acre. The ratification of the Louisiana Purchase treaty by the Senate on October 20, 1803 opened up the continent to its westward expansion. The purchase was the first major expansion of the U.S. since it had won its independence from Great Britain approximately 20 years earlier. The territory gained in the Louisiana Purchase was the largest in U.S. history, totalling 828,000 square miles, about 23% of the current U.S. land area; its lands created 13 different states. The Louisiana Purchase also secured the United States’s right to passage along the Mississippi River and allowed greater access to the port of New Orleans, which provided access to trade routes with Latin America, South America, the Caribbean, and Africa.

A) Identify at least three distinct ways in which the Louisiana Purchase impacted the development of the United States.

Jefferson’s Conundrum

Napoleon offered to sell all of Louisiana, including the vast territory to the West and North of New Orleans. We were ready to agree, but I worried that I was exceeding my constitutional mandate...This treaty must, of course, be laid before both Houses. They, I presume, will see their duty to their country in ratifying and paying for it...his ward in purchasing an important adjacent territory...I did this for your good. –Thomas Jefferson

A) What was Jefferson's concern in agreeing to the Louisiana Purchase?

Primary Source: Monroe Doctrine

. . . the American continents . . . are . . . not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European powers. . . .
In the wars of the European powers in matters relating to themselves we have never taken any part, nor does it comport [fit] with our policy so to do. . . . We owe it, therefore, . . . to the amicable [friendly] relations existing between the United States and those powers to declare that we should consider any attempt on their part to extend their system to any portion of this hemisphere as dangerous to our peace and safety. With the existing colonies or dependencies of any European power we . . . shall not interfere. . . .
– James Monroe's message to Congress, 1823

A) What message is President Monroe sending to the European powers in this document? What was he warning against?

The U.S. & Latin America

Mexico's new revolutionary government...was granted formal recognition today. This initiative is the latest American effort to aid the rebellions of the Latin American colonies against Spain...Monroe extended diplomatic recognition to Gran Colombia...Argentina, Chile and Peru. The recognition by the United States is the first accorded to any of these revolutionary governments by a major power.
– U.S. Recognizing Latin American States, December 12,1822

A) Based on this document, how would you describe the relationship between the U.S. and Latin America during the 1820s? Support your answer with evidence from the text.

B) Why do you think the U.S. Government made this decision?

Background on the Monroe Doctrine:

The Monroe Doctrine was written in response to events that took place between 1820 and 1823. In the early 19th Century, many Latin American nations won their independence from Spain. Spain and other European continental powers hoped to maintain a sphere of influence over these new nations; additionally, Russia tried to exert control over North American territories along the northwest Pacific Coast. The constant threat of foreign influence over the American continent led President Monroe to issue the Monroe Doctrine as a part of his annual message to Congress; the doctrine would dictate US foreign policy for many years to come.

A) How did global politics help influence the development of the Monroe Doctrine?

Summary & Analysis

Write at least one paragraph in response to the following prompt:

  • How do the Louisiana Purchase and the Monroe Doctrine relate to one another? What do these two actions symbolize for the U.S. at that time and how did these two events help shape the course of U.S. History?

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